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THE 

DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA 


WITH  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  ANCIENT  AMERICA 
AND  THE  SPANISH  CONQUEST 


JOHN 

FISKE 

m  TWO 

VOLUMES 

VOL.  11. 

ImibuihxlH 
lodui  of  naliai 
o  ail  iborn  thi 

«:a.yp.th.kad>oI 
;  Idlipene 
(rouithcboarymaiEL 

uiing,  wnw  Ions  I>le 
■DusI  EO  llHns  or  dir. 

'^^ 


BOSTON    AND    KEW    YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFMN   AND   COMPANY 


Oopjrlglily  t868| 
\  Bt  JOHN  FI8K& 


20753 


TIFTKKMTH  THOUflAlOK 


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Th$  Riverside  Preu^  Camhfidgey  ilfa«t.,  U.  8.  A. 
Etoctrotyped  aad  Printed  l^r  H.  O.  HougbUa  &  CompMOb 


L    / 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

MUNDUS  K0VU8. 

The  few  facts  known  about  John  Cabot  ...  2 
The  merchants  of  Bristol,  and  the  voyage  of  Thomas 

Lloyd 3 

Effect  of  the  news  that  Columbus  had  found  a  western 

route  to  the  Indies 4 

John  Cabot  finds  land  supposed  to  be  Cathay,  June  24^ 

1497 5 

John  Cabot  and  his  son  Sebastian  go  in  search  of 

Cipango,  April,  1498 6 

Later  career  of  Sebastian  Cabot 7 

Perplexities  caused  by  the  rapid  accumulation  of  geo* 

graphical  facts  in  the  sixteenth  century    ...  8 

What  part  of  North  America  did  the  Cabots  visit  ?     •  9 

Map  of  1544,  attributed  to  Sebastian  Cabot         .        •  10 

Testimony  of  Robert  Thome 11 

Cabot's  course,  as  described  by  Raimondo  de  Soncino  .  12 

Description  of  the  map  made  in  1500  by  La  Cosa  .  13 
The  Cabot  voyages  probably  ranged  &om  Labrador, 

through  the  g^lf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  perhaps  as 

far  as  Cape  Cod 14,  15 

Why  the  Cabot  voyages  were  not  followed  up      .        .16 

The  voyage  of  John  Rut,  in  1527  ...  16,  17 
Change  in  the  situation  between  the  reign  of  Henry 

VIII.  and  that  of  Elizabeth  .  .  .  .  17,  18 
Portuguese  voyages  to  Labrador  ;  the  brothers  Corte- 

real 18,  19 

The  map  made  in  1502  for  Alberto  Cantino  •        20,  21 


iv  CONTENTS. 

The  Newfoundland  fisheries ;  Baccalaos  •  •  •  22 
As  links  in  the  chain  of  discoverjy  the  northern  voyages 

were  insignificant  as  compared  with  the  southern      23, 24 
Early  life  of  Americus  Vespucius         .        .        .        25, 26 
He  goes  to  Spain  and  becomes  connected  with  the  com- 
mercial house  of  Juanoto  Berardi,  at  Seville     .        27, 28 
His  letters  to  Lorenzo  di  Pier  Francesco  de'  Medici 

and  to  Piero  Soderini 29, 30 

The  four  voyages  described  in  these  letters  •  30-32 
Yespucius  appointed  pilot  major  of  Spain  •  •  •  33 
His  death  at  Seville,  February  22,  1512  ...  33 
The  letter  from  Yespucius  to  Soderini,  in  its  details  .  34 
He  went  on  his  earlier  voyages  in  the  capacity  of  as- 
tronomer   35 

Character  of  his  descriptions 36 

The  Quattro  Giomatey  the  lost  book  of  Yespucius  37, 38 
The  Latin  version  (1507)  of  the  letter  to  Soderini  .  39 
Becent  discovery  of  the  primitive  Italian  text  (1505- 

06)  of  the  letter 39, 40 

The  stupid  or  accidental  change  of  the  Indian  name 

Lariah  into  the  Indian  name  Parias  in  the  Latin 

version  of  1507  was  the  original  source  of  all  the 

ciQumny  that  has  been  directed  against  Yespucius    42, 43 

How  the  "  little  wooden  Yenice  "  aided  and  abetted 

the  error 43, 44 

In  this  way  was  originated  the  charge  that  Yespucius 
feigned  to  have  discovered  the  coast  of  Paria  in 

1497 44 

The  date  1497  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the 

naming  of  America 45 

A.bsurdity  inherent  in  this  charge  agidnst  Yespucius     .      46 
Claims  of  Diego  Columbus  to  all  his  father's  dig- 
nities and  emoluments       ......      47 

His  law-suit  against  the  crown 48 

The  great  judicial  inquiry,  the  Prohanzan     ...      49 
The  testimony  of  the  witnesses  examined  in  the  Pro- 
hamas  proves  that  Yespucius  did  not  disc3ver  the 

Pearl  Coast  in  1497 50 

It  proves,  with  equal  force,  that  he  never  professed  to 
have  done  so     •        • 51 


CONTENTS.  V 

The  landfall  on  the  first  voyage  of  Vespnoius  was  near 

Cape  Honduras 52 

His  *'  little  wooden  Venice  **  was  probably  on  the  shore 

of  Tabasco 53 

The  *'  province  of  Lariab  "  was  near  Tampico     •        •      54 

Roasted  iguanas  and  fish  patties 55 

Description  of  Lariab  and  its  communal  houses    .         56, 57 
From  Tampico  Vespucius  followed  the  coast  to  Florida 

and  around  it 57, 58 

And  from  some  point  on  the  coast  of  the  United  States 

sailed  for  Spain,  stopping  at  the  Bermudas      .         59-61 
Why  critics  have  found  no  contemporary  allusions  to 
this  voyage  :  they  have  not  looked  in  the  right  di- 
rection       61 

There  are  such  contemporary  allusions        ...      64 
Antonio  de  Herrera,  and  his  account  (1601)  of  the  first 
voyage  of  Vicente  Yaiiez  Pinzon  and  Juan  Diaz  de 

Solis 64-66 

Herrera  got  the  date  wrong,  — 1506  instead  of  1497  .      67 
Documents  gathered  by  Navarre te  prove  that  Pinzon 

did  not  go  on  any  voyage  in  1506     .         .        .         67, 68 
How  easy  it  was  for  Herrera  to  make  this  particular 

mistake 68,69 

Testimony  of  Peter  Martyr 69 

Testimony  of  Gomara  and  Oviedo        .         .         •        •      70 
The  first  voyage  of  Vespucius  was  with  Pinzon  and 

Solis  in  1497-98 71 

It  was  probably  from  Vespucius  that  La  Cosa  got  the 
information  that  led  him  in  his  map,  made  be- 
tween June  and  October,  1500,  to  depict  Cuba  as 

an  island 72, 73 

The  Cantino  map  proves  that  the  coasts  of  Florida 
were  visited  and  mapped  by  Spanish  mariners  be- 
fore November,  1502,  and  that  the  voyage  in  which 
this  was  done  was  not  followed  up  .  .  .  74-76 
^Relations  of  the  Cantino  map  to  Waldseemiiller's 
Tabula  Terre  Nove,  made  before  1508,  and  often  in- 
appropriately called  **  The  Admiral's  "  mpp  .  77-81 
How  and  why  the  old  map-makers  were  puzzled  by 
the  names  on  the  Florida  coasts        .        .        •         80, 81 


VI  CONTENTS. 

The  Tojage  of  Vespncias  iu  1497-98  is  the  only  Toyage 

on  record  that  explains  the  Cantino  map  ...      82 
How  it  came  about  that  Finzon,  Solis,  and  Vespucios 

made  this  yoyage 83, 84 

The  three  Berardi  sqoadrons  ....  85, 86 
How  far  north  did  Vespucius  follow  the  coast  of  the 

United  States  ? 87, 88 

Perhaps  as  far  as  the  Chesapeake  ....  89 
Why  the  voyage  was  not  followed  up  .  •  .  89, 90 
It  was  not  a  commercial  success  ....  90, 91 
All  eyes  were  turned  toward  the  Indian  ocean  after 

Gama's  Yoyage 91, 92 

Probable  influence  of  the  first  voyage  of  Vespucius 
upon  the  fourth  voyage  of  Columbus,  which  was 
itself  a  direct  response  to  the  voyage  of  Grama  92, 93 

The  second  voyage  of  Vespucius,  with  Ojeda  and  La 

Cosa 93-95 

Second  voyage  of  Pinzon,  and  discovery  of  the  Ama- 
zon    95 

Alvarez  de  Cabral  crosses  the  Atlantic  by  accident, 
and  finds  himself  upon  the  coast  of  Brazil        .        .      96 

The  «  Land  of  the  Holy  Cross  " 97 

Vespucius  passes  into  the  service  of  Portugal      .        .      98 
If  Columbus  had  never  lived,  Cabral  would  have  dis- 
covered America,  April  22,  1500      ....      98 
The  third  voyage  of  Vespucius  ;  he  meets  Cabral  at 

Cape  Verde     . 99, 100 

He  explores  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  meets  with  can- 
nibals        101,102 

The  Bay  of  All  SainU 102 

Change  of  direction  near  the  mouth  of  La  Plata .  .  103 
Discovery  of  the  island  of  South  Georgia  •  •  •  104 
Return  to  Lisbon,  September  7, 1502  .        .        .    105 

Great  historical  importance  of  this  voyage   .        .     105, 106 

An  antarctic  world 106, 107 

Why  Vespucius  thought  it  was  a  *<  new  world  "  .  107-110 
His  letter  to  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  .  .      108-110 

This  letter  was  translated  into  Latin  and  published  (at 
Paris,  1503-04)  by  the  famous  architect  Giocondo, 
who  entitled  it  "  Mundus  Novns  "    .        .        .     111-113 


CONTENTS.  Vli 

Intense  interest  aroused  by  this  little  tract  .        .    113 

Matthias  Bing^ann  and  his  verses       ....    116 

What  did  the  phrase  '*  New  World  "  originaUy  mean  ?    117 
Oceanic  and  continental  theories  .        .     117-125 

Johann   Raysch's  map  of    the   world,  published   in 
1508  .        .        .        .        .        .       114,115,118,119 

The  Lenox  globe,  made  about  1510  .     120-122 

The  globe  of  Orontius  Fin»us,  made  in  1531       .     122-126 
The  name  "CatUgara"  upon  this  globe  shows  that 
**  America "  was  supposed  to  be  part  of  Ptolemy's 
Terra  Incognita  in  the  southern  hemisphere     .     125, 126 
Some  account  of  Mela's  antipodal  world,  or  Opposite- 
Earth,  beyond  the  equator        ....     126, 127 

It  was  sometimes  called  "  Quarta  Pars "  .  .  .  128 
Successive  steps  in  the  naming  of  America  •     129, 130 

Ben^  IL,  Duke  of  Lorraine 130 

The  town  of  Saint-Did,  in  the  Vosges  mountains  .  131 
Walter  Lud,  and  Martin  Waldseemiiller  .  .  131, 132 
French  yersion  of  the  letter  of  Americns  to  Soderini  .  132 
The  proposed  new  edition  of  Ptolemy  ....  133 
The  French  yersion  of  the  letter  is  turned  into  Latin 

by  Jean  Basin  de  Senda(sour 134 

The "  Cosmographie  Introductio "  •  .  .  .  135 
Waldseemiiller's  suggestion  that  Quarta  Pars  should 

be  called  America 136 

Note  on  the  names  Europe,  Asia,  Libya,  Africa  .  136-138 
Why  the  western  hemisphere  was  not  named  after 

Columbus 138 

It  was  not  the  western  hemisphere  that  was  first  meant 

by  America 139 

The  inscription  upon  Waldseemflller's  map,  the  Tabula 

Terre  Nove,  engraved  before  1508  ....  140 
What  Bingmann  and  Waldseemiiller  really  meant  •  141 
Significant  silence  of  Ferdinand  Columbus  .        .     142-144 

The  Ptolemy  of  1522 145 

Different  conceptions  of  Mundus  Novus       .        •     145, 146 
The  map  (cir.  1514)  attributed  to  Leonardo  da  Vinci  146, 147 
America  on  Schoner's  first  and  second  globes       •        •     148 
The  '*  New  World  "  was  not  the  western  but  the  south- 
em  world         149 


•  •• 


Viu  CONTENTS, 

Extension  of  the  name  '* America"  from  Brazil  to 

South  America 149-151 

The  name  **  America  "  was  first  applied  to  the  western 
hemisphere  in  1541  by  Gerard  Mercator  •        .        .    152 

His  map       .         .        • 153 

Change  of  meaning  in  the  names  <'  New  World  "  and 

''America" 154 

How  the  memory  of  Vespucius  at  length  came  to  be 

attacked 154, 155 

Schoner's  loose  remarks       .        .        .        .        .        .     155 

The  situation  as  misunderstood,  after  1550,  by  Las 

Casas 156 

Effect  upon  Las  Casas  of  the  blundering  substitution 

of  Parias  for  Lariab 157, 158 

The  first  published  charge  against  Vespucius  was  made 

in  1601  by  Herrera 159, 160 

Herrera's  charge  g^ave  rise  to  the  popular  notion  that 
Americus  contrived  to  supplant  his  friend  Colum- 
bus    160 

Santarem's  ridiculous  tirade 161 

Divers  grotesque  conceits 162 

The  charges  against  Vespucius  were  partly  refuted 
by  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  and  have  since  been 

destroyed  by  Vamhagen 163 

But  a  comprehensive  and  systematic  statement  of  the 

case  is  now  made  for  the  first  time        .        .        .     164 
Causal  sequence  of  voyages  from  the  third  of  Colum- 
bus to  that  of  Magellan    165,166 

Voyages  of  Coelho  and  Jaques  ....  166, 167 
Fourth  voyage  of  Vespucius,  in  1503  with  Coelho  .  168-170 
Conclusion  of  the  letter  to  Soderini  .  .  .  170, 171 
Americus  returns  to  Spain,  and  visits  Columbus  •  .  172 
The  Finzon  expedition  to  La  Flata ;  planned  for  1506, 

but  not  carried  out 173 

Fifth  and   sixth  voyages  of   Vespucius,  —  with  La 

Cosa 174,175 

Voyage  of  Finzon  and  Solis,  1508         ....    176 
Last  voyage  and  death  of  Solis,  1516   .        .        .        .176 
Emergence  of  the  idea  of  a  western  hemisphere ;  Stob- 
nicza's  map,  1612 177-180 


CONTENTS.  IX 

First  sight  of  the  Pacific  by  Balboa,  in  1513         .        .     180 
Eastward  progress  of  the  Portuguese  to  China  and  the 

Moluccas,  1504-17 181-183 

IHm  mdimentarj  conception  of  a  separate  ocean  be- 
tween Mundus  Novus  and  Asia 183 

184 
185 
186 
187 


Ferdinand  Magellan 

Seqneira's  expedition  and  the  Malay  plot,  1509    . 
Seqaeira  and  Serrano  saved  by  Magellan     . 
Serrano's  shipwreck,  and  his  stay  at  the  Moluccas 
The  antipodal  line  of  demarcation  between  Spanish  and 

Portuguese  waters    .         .         .        .        •        .      187, 188 
Magellan's  return  to  Portugal ;  his  scheme  for  sailing 

westward  to  the  Moluccas         ....     188, 189 
Qoestion  as  to  the  strait   depicted  upon  Schoner's 

globes 189 

Magellan's  proposals  are  rejected  by  the  king  of  Por- 
tugal ;     and  accordingly  he  enters  the  service  of 

Spain 190 

His  marriage  to  Beatriz  de  Barbosa     ....     191 
Ships  and  men  of  the  great  expedition  .        •     191, 192 

TraitOTs  in  the  fleet 192,193 

The  Chevalier  Pigafetta  and  his  journal  of  the  voyage     193 
After  a  stormy  voyage  to  the  coast  of  Patagonia,  the 

ships  go  into  winter  quarters  at  Port  St.  Julian         .     194 
Reasons  for  returning  home  ;  Magellan's  refusal  .     195 

The  mutiny  at  Port  St.  Julian  ;  desperate  situation  of 

Magellan 196 

His  bold  stroke,  and  suppression  of  the  mutiny   .      197, 198 

Discovery  of  the  strait 199 

Desertion  of  the  pilot  Gromez,  with  the  San  Antonio    .     199 

Entering  the  Pacific  ocean 200 

Famine  and  scurvy 202 

Yastness  beyond  conception 203 

The  Ladrone  islands ;  and  the  Philippines   .        •        .    204 
The  mediseval  spirit ;  sadden  conversion  of  the  people 

ofSebu 205 

Death  of  Magellan 206 

The  masBacre  at  Sebu 207 

Arrival  of  the  Trinidad  and  Victoria  at  the  Moluccas  .    207 
Fate  of  the  Trinidad 208 


X  CONTENTS. 

Betum  of  the  Victoria,  by  the  Cape  of  €rood  Hope,  to 

Spain 208-210 

An  unparalleled  voyage 210 

Elcano'8  crest 210 

How  slowly  the  result  was  comprehended    .        •        .    211 
To  complete  the  discovery  of  North  America  was  the 

Work  of  Two  Centuries 212 

Bat  before  we  go  on  to  treat  of  this,  something  must 
be  said  concerning  thcfirst  contact  between  the  me- 
disval  civilization  of  Europe  and  the  archaic  semi- 
civilizations  of  America    • 212 


CHAPTER  Vm. 

THE  CONQXnSBT  OF  MEXICO. 

££fects  of  increased  knowledge  of  geography  upon  the 

romantic  spirit 213, 214 

Romantic  dreams  of  the  Spanish  explorers  .        •     214, 215 

Prehistoric  Mexico 216 

The  "  Toltecs,"  and  the  wild  notions  about  them .        .    217 

The  <'Chichimecs" 218 

The  Nahua  tribes 219 

Tollan  and  the  Serpent  Hill 220 

The  fabulous  <*Toltec  empire" 221 

The  Aztecs,  and  the  founding  of  the  city  of  Mex- 
ico     221,222 

The  first  four  Aztec  chiefs-of-men       •        .        •        .    223 

Destruction  of  Azcaputzalco 224 

The  Mexican  Confederacy 224-226 

The  hostile  Tlascalans 227 

The  second  Montezuma 227 

The  tax-gatherer  Pinotl  hears  an  amazing  story  of  a 

winged  tower  floating  upon  the  sea  and  filled  with 

bearded  men  in  shining  raiment  ....  228 
Pinotl  visits  the  mysterious  strangers,  and  carries  news 

of  them  to  Montezuma  .....  228, 229 
How  this  event  was  to  be  regarded  ;  Qnetzalcoatl  and 

Tlaloc 229-233 


CONTESTS.  XI 

Specializadon  of  TUiloo  as  elemental  deitf  .  .  .  233 
Generalizatioii  of  Qnetzalcoatl  aa  cuIture-heTo  .  233, 231 
The  dark  Tezcatlipoca,  and  the  strife  between  lig^t 

and  darknesa 235 

Exile  of  Quetzalcoatl 230 

ExpectatioQ  of  hie  retnm 237 

FnlfllmeDt  of  prophecy ;  eztraairdiiitkC7  eoinoideiioes  .  23S 
By  what  stages  the  Spaniards  arrived  ;  diSnsion  of 

the  irork  of  discorerj  from  UispaniolA     .         .         .    239 
Cordova's  expedition  to  Tacatau,  1517  .         .         .    240 

Hofltile  demeanour  of  the  Majaa  .....  241 
Defeat  of  the  Spaniards  at  Champoton  .         .         .    242 

Grijalva's  expedition,  1518  ;  it  was  GrijalTa'a  fleet  that 

was  visited  by  the  tax-gatherer  Pinotl  .         .     243 

Excitement  of  the  Spaniards  over  Grijalva's  reports  .  244 
He  was  set  aside,  however,  and  Hernando  Cortes  was 

appointed  to  command  the  next  expedition        .         .     245 
First  proceedings  of  Cortes ;  bis  insubordinatjon  ■        .    246 

The  scuttling  of  the  ships 246,247 

The  Spanish  force  upon  the  Mexican  coast  .  .  .  248 
Audacity  of  Cortes  at  Cempoala  ....  240, 250 
The  Spaniards  received  as  gods  at  Xocothm  .  .  263 
Battle  between  Spaniards  and  Tlascalans  .  .  .  253 
Scheme  of  the  Tlascalon  soothsayers  ....  254 
Complete  triumph  of  Cortes  ;  alliance  between  Tlas- 

oalona  and  Spaniards 2S5 

l^eacbeiy    at    Cholula,    discovered    by    DoSa    Ma- 
rina   256, 267 

Massacre  of  Cholnlans  by  the  Spaniards  .  .  268, 269 
f"irst  sight  of  Mexico-Tcnochtitlau,  a  most  romoutio 


Description  of  the  dty ;  the  causeways        .        .        .    262 
The  canals  and  bridges ;  the  houses      ....     263 

PopnUtion  of  Tenochtitlan 264, 265 

The  flower-gardens 265 

The  four  wards 266 

Dress  of  men  and  women 267 

Interiors  of  the  houses ;  dinner 267 

Didhes 268 

Cannibalism 268,269 


•  • 


XU  CONTENTS. 

Drinka 270 

The  markets 270 

The  temple 271 

Human  sacrifices 272 

The  tzompantli,  or  place  of  skulls          ....  273 

Entry  of  the  Spaniards  into  Tenochtitlan     •        ..        •  274 

Extreme  peril  of  the  situation 275 

Effect  of  seizing  the  head  war-chief  ....  276 
Montezuma  was  a  priest-conmiander   .        •        •     277,  278 

The  affair  of  Quauhpopoca •  279 

Seizure  of  Montezuma  hy  the  Spaniards       •        •        •  280 

Quauhpopoca  hurned  at  the  stake         •        •        •        •  281 

Cleansing  of  one  of  the  pyramids         .        .        •        •  281 

Arrival  of  Narvaez  at  San  Juan  de  Ulloa    .        •        •  282 

Cortes  defeats  and  captures  Narvaez  ....  282 
Alvarado,  left  in  conmiand  at  Tenochtitlan,  meditates 

a  heavy  hlow 283 

The  festival  of  Tezcatlipoca 283 

Massacre  of  Aztecs  by  Alvarado 284 

Return  of  Cortes  ;    he  lets  Cuitlahnatzin  out  of  the 

house  where  he  had  him  confined  ....  285 
The  crisis  precipitated  ;  the  tribal  council  deposes  Mon- 

tezimia  and  elects  Cuitlahnatzin  chief-of-men  in  his 

place  ;  and  the  Spaniards  are  at  once  attacked         .  285 

Death  of  Montezuma 286 

The  Melancholy  Night 286 

Victory  of  Cortes  at  Otumba,  and  its  effects        .        .  287 

Gaining  of  Tezcuco 288 

Siege  of  Mexico 289 

Conclusion  of  the  conquest ;  last  years  and  death  of 

Cortes 290 

How  the  Spanish  conquest  should  be  regarded  .  .  291 
It  was  a  good  thing  for  Mexico    ....     292, 293 

CHAPTER  DC 

ANCIENT  PKRU. 

Creneral  view  of  the  South  American  peoples       .     294-297 

Cbiriqui 294 


CONTESTS.  xill 

TleCfaibcbaa 296,296 

The  Caribs  and  MaTpnres 20G,  207 

Varions  savage  groups 297 


Quichua-Ajuiara  tribes 298 

Method  of  reconling  bj  ^uiput     ....      298-300 

liate  of  Incas 301   ' 

Lake  Titicaca  aod  the  cyclopean  ruins  at  Tiahoanacn  .    302 

The  alleged  Firua  dynasty 303 

Rains  on  the  Sacsahuaman  hill  .  .  .  .  304-310 
The  historiaa  Cieza  de  Leon  ....  304-306 
The  historiao  Garcilasso  Inca  de  la  Vega     .  307, 308 

Antiquity  of  Peruvian  culture  ;  domesticated  atiiiiials     311 

The  potato 312, 313 

Hie  PeraTiant  were  in  many  reepecta  mote  advanced 
than  any  other  American  aborigines,  but  were  still 
within  the  middle  period  of  barbarism      .         .      314, 315 
Inflnence  of  cattle  npon  the  evolution  of  society  .      315, 316 
PriT>l«  property  (pccuUum)  ;  development  of  the  no- 
tion   317 

There  was  no  true  pastoral  life  in  ancient  Pern   .        .    318 
That  country  presents  a  unique  instance  of  the  attain- 
ment of  a  radimentary  form  of  nationality  without 

the  notion  of  private  property 319 

Growtli  of  Peruvian  nationality  ;  the  tonr  tribes  .      319, 320 

Xamea  of  tbe  Incaa 321 

Conquest  itf  the  Aymaras,  of  the  Chancas  and  Hoaocaa, 
tbe  Chimiu,  the  Quitus,  and  tbe  tribes  of  northern 

Cldli 321-324 

DimendoDS  of  tbe  empire 325 

Tbe  Incas  soo^t  to  assimilate  conquered  5>eoples  326 

Cieu's  descriptitm  of  tbe  military  roads  .    327 

Tbe  reUy  bouses  and  conriera 328 

Tbt  limitations  of  tbe  middle  period  of  barbarism  were 

to  be  »«ii  iu  tbe  rope  bridges  .  .  329, 330 
Tlie  sTFUm  of  militarr  colonics  and  deportation  .  33(^  331 
^t'nJ]>t»IIU  of  incipient  nationality  ....  332 
Oar?ilaaK>*s  acooont  of  tbe  Ims  casU  .  .  333,  334 
The  Inca  sorerdgn  and  the  eonncil  ....  335 
7kdep(wti(m<rfUi««Iaai 330 


Siv  CONTENTS. 

The  Ine*  wMft^jg^king'* 337 

pArurUn  religion  ;  Pftchaoanme,  the  Creator      •     338, 339 

Bun^wonbip 340 

Hutruin  faorifbei  bad  been  aboliBbed  by  the  Incas  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  the  Spaniarda      ....    341 

The  prieHthood 342,343 

The  venial  uuna 344 

They  were  oououbiuea  for  the  Inca  ....  345 
Ulie  Inoa's  legitimate  wife,  or  Coya  ....  346 
Society  liad  undergone  farther  development  in  Fern 

than  elaewhere  in  America 347 

Breaking  up  of  the  clan  aystera  .....  348 
Tlie  Cliirihuanai,  east  of  the  Andes     ....    349 

Their  communal  houses 350 

Monogamy  in  the  Inca  society 351 

The  industrial  army 352, 353 

Allotment  of  lands  and  produce 354 

There  was  little  or  no  division  of  labour  .     355, 356 

Knormous  cost  of  government     ....     356, 357 

Cyclopean  works 357 

Commuuiatio  despotism 358 

Agriculture 358,369 

Oovemment  hunts 359 

Arts 360 

General  summary 361 

lluuiauenese  •.•••••.  368 
laleUeelMd  eultiife 963^  36t 

CHAPTER  X. 

THX  coK^rxsT  or  PSKr* 

KehUioiM  ol  the  Admiral  Dwgo  Colttmbos  to  tte 

vrowii       ..,.....• 

f^vbicee  of  Terra  Firtuft  graaied  to  Ojeda  and  NV- 

CiMtHk 

Starting  of  the  expeditions 367 

l>iMi4ai  Qf  U  Coea 36» 

IWtholOjedft  .        .        « 9W 

»»yedilaottogliwmwHa»l§wti||iirsBSiid!Byba»     .    SSft 


CONTENTS.  XT 

Endso  depoBed  by  his  men 871 

Awful  aufferingg  of  Kiooesa  and  hii  purt;   .         ,      371, 372 

Cniel  treatment  of  NioQesa  b;  tha  men  of  Dariea        .  372 

Balboa  left  in  oudispated  command     ....  373 

iizploration  of  the  igthnius  ;  speech  of  Comogre's  Hn  .  374 

Discorery  of  the  Buiifio  ocean 375 

FDrtfaei  uewH  of  the  golden  kingdom  ....  376 

AlIaiiB  in  Spain 376 

Pediariss  DArila 377 

JealoBSj  between  Fedraiias  and  Balboa  .  378 
An  expedition  prepazed  to  go  in  search  of  the  golden 

kingdom 379 

All  in  readiness,  except  for  a  litUe  iron  and  piteh        .  380 

A  fatal  conveisatiDn 381 

GaraTito'a  treacheir 382 

Balboa  pnt  to  death  by  Fediarios         ....  383 

Aninterral 384 

Francisco  Pizsrro 385 

Ot^  of  ti>e  name  "  Fern  ' 386 

Lope  de  Sosa  appointed  to  supersede  FedranM   .        .  386 

Sadden  death  of  Lope  de  Sosa 387 

Espinoaa'a  Toyage  in  Balboa's  ships     .  .     387, 388 

GU  Gonialex  IKnla,  his  troubles  and  death  .  388-390 
Kiam  and  Almagro  start  in  search  of  the  golden 

kingdom 391 

Death  of  Fediuias 392 

The  KeDe  at  Gallo 398 

DiaooTcry  of  Fern 381 

I^zaiTo's  Tisit  to  Spain 395 

The  Rzarro  brothers 396, 388 

Civil  war  in  Fern,  and  nsnrpation  of  Atabnalpa  .         .  388 

Hie  Spaniards  arrire  apon  the  scene    ....  398 

And  are  supposed  to  be  "  sons  of  Tiiacocfaa  "  390 

Caiamarca 400,401 

Capture  of  Atahnalpa 402 

Bansom  eoUeeted  for  him  ;  Fernando  Fiiarro's  ride  to 

the  temple  of  Fvshacamao         .....  403 

Harder  of  the  captive  Inca  Hnawsr  by  Atahnalpa  .  4M 
Atahiulp*  pat  to  daath  by  tha  Spaniards     .         .      405,406 


xyI  contents. 

TI10  tmv  InoA,  Mftnoo,  makes  his  BabroiMion,  and  is 

ilul^Y  inauinii^tod  at  Caioo  bj  Fisarro  .    407 

Arrival  aiiil  rvtiroinent  of  Fftdro  de  Alyarado  .    406 

KtTwt  k4  t)M»  n«>ws  in  Spain 408 

Aliu)i|rrMV  di«inui ;  be  starts  for  Chili        •        .        •    409 

MaiMH»  |4att»  an  insurrc^cUon 410 

11i«»  8|kanUurds  biMie|^  in  Cuseo  ....  411 
Ki^nni  of  Alniaiprvs  who  defeats  the  Inea»  and  ]»«•> 

•nl))n»i^i»<M  INiaoo 419 

CixU  war  s  <MM«tttiott  of  Almagtov  and  final  defeat  of 

the  lava 412 

llvw  IVraando  IHaarro  was  receiTed  in  Sfiaia  .    415 

VaKlixiaV  vom^whU  of  Chili 414 

U^^iMttd^^  l\MurroV  4^x|l«^itiott  in  seanA  of  £1  Dtocado^ 

ajMi  OcvUaaaV  dMiciMil  of  the  AaMoiMa  414^415 

t%oiiiaWV  vetarm  W  t^nit^ 41S 

tW3daxi«aJ»INtfMtc«aMilhe«^M«ofChai'^  .  €Mv«IT 
Awweiioatam  ol  I^jkuhm^      ..««...    40IT 

ItW'^^HiiMt^yjisuMvf  CWyoa*^ 4IS 

'fW  K^w  Law9>.  )HH&  the  mMSm  e£  Gqmb2»  Ba^^     41S 

lfW>r^<ik^C*>»(Miai -OS 

IM(Ml  mt^  ^.tM«mAi>ML  i«f  <M»tt»Jll^  fteee^  ^  .  .  4Bi^ 
JMtnOcalL  «^  ^tkitthMa  ^  .  ^  -  ^  «  «  4Bft 
^^4lllM  ««wiMtf^  whf  0^  ^MUftaMk  of  IWca  WOK  waam^ 

}^U^thi4.^'*tiki^       ..       ^       ..       ^       «       «    4S2;.4ESS( 

1^  vri^  ^  iMittk  3lUaiM 4S«l^^eS 

tta^Mi^^Hmiiaaiatttti^ ^BS^4m 


->iiotimfc  >iH**»«?*    •                        46S^4i3f^ 

.m^ttimtogv  vit:  Iliulatt  -^Utt-nt?^  uatfag  Cntimiai*     ..  -ttK».4K: 

Jefmrrtimwmm' 4ML^iiHMr-y*nptL  •.    ^&4l 

>i«Mk)^  if«  ^.^tuaiw.4alLIil»'^<nfttalsaK^^1«i^  -.   4air> 
Vc)«aiaiiU>^  .tMtftasstti^ 


•  • 


CONTENTS.  XVll 

Birdi  and  family  of  Las  Caaas     ....     437,438 
His  character  and  his  writings     ....     439-441 

The  royal  orders  of  1503 441 

Origin  of  encondendas 442 

Hffects  of  the  discovery  of  gold 443 

Hideoos  cruelties 444, 445 

The  great  sermons  of  Antonio  Montesino  .     44jS,  447 

The  king's  position 448 

Las  Casas  was  at  first  a  slave-owner    ....  449 

The  conversion  of  Las  Casas 450 

His  first  proceedings 451 

His  reception  hy  Bishop  Fonseca;  and  hy  Cardinal 

Ximenes 452 

Hrst  attempts  at  reform 453 

Hie  popular  notion  ahout  the  relations  of  Las  Casas  to 

negro  slavery  is  grossly  incorrect     ....  454 

What  Las  Casas  really  said 455 

Mediaeval  and  modem  conceptions  of  human  rights  456 
Gradual  development  of  the  modem  conception  in  the 

mind  of  Las  Casas 456, 457 

His  momentary  suggestion  had  no  traceahle  effect  upon 

negro  slavery 457 

His  life-work  did  much  to  diminish  the  volume  of  ne- 
gro slavery  and  the  spiritual  corruption  attendant 

upon  it 458 

Las  Casas  and  Charles  Y. ;  scheme  for  founding  a 

colony  upon  the  Pearl  Coast 459 

The  slave-catcher,  Ojeda ;  the  mischief  that  one  mis- 
erable sinner  can  do 460 

Destruction  of  the  little  colony  by  the  Lidians     .        •  461 

Grief  of  Las  Casas  ;  he  becomes  a  Dominican  monk    .  462 
Spanish  conquests,  and  resulting  movements  of  the 

Dominicans       ....         -        .         .         .  463 

The  little  monastery  in  Guatemala       ....  464 
The  treatise  of  Las  Casas  on  the  only  right  way  of 

bringing  men  to  Christ 465 

How  the  colonists  taunted  him 465 

Tuziiluthin,orthe«'Landof  War*'     .        .        .     465,466 

The  highest  type  of  manhood 466 

Diplomacy  of  ham  Casas 467 


•  •• 


XVra  CONTKSTB. 

Hx8  pfMparatKMU  for  ft  peaeef •!  iivntfion  of  the  LmI 

of  War 

How  ftn  entrance  was  effeeted      ....     468-4T0 

The  first  positions  earned 471 

The  victory  won 478 

The  Land  of  War  beoomea  the  Land  of  True  Peace 

( Vera  Paz) 473 

Enslatement  of  Indians  forbidden  bjr  the  Pope    .        •  473 

The  New  Laws  of  Charles  V 474 

The  final  compromise,  working  gradual  aboliUon         •  475 

Immense  results  of  the  labours  of  Laa  Casas       .        •  476 

Las  Casas  made  Bishop  of  Chiapa        ....  477 

His  final  return  to  Spain 478 

His  controversy  with  Sepulveda 479 

His  relations  with  Philip  II 480 

His  <*  History  of  the  Indies  ** 481 

His  death 481,488 


CHAPTER  XIL 

THE  WORK  OF  TWO  OEMTTmXBS. 

Hispaniola  as  the  centre  of  Spanish  ookMuzatioii  .        .  483 

The  first  voyage  of  Vespocins 484 

Mandeville*s  Fountain  of  Youth 485 

The  Land  of  Easter 486 

Pineda's  discovery  of  the  Mississippi,  1519  .  .  487 
Effect  of  Magellan's  voyage  in  tnmiiiig  the  oomae  of 

exploration  to  the  northward 487 

Cape  Horn 488 

The  Congress  of  Badajos 488,488 

The  search  for  a  Northwest  Passage  ....  480 
Ayllon,  and  the  Spanish  colony  on  James  river  in 

1526 491 

The  voyi^  of  Gomez  in  1625 ASH^ 

France  enters  upon  the  scene  ;  the  voyage  of  Verra- 

sano  in  1524 483 

Cartier  and  Roberval,  1534-43;  and  the  voyage  of 

AIlefoBsee        ........  ^4 

The  "<  Sea  of  Vemuumo  " 4S»5 


CONTENTS. 

Dieorles  of  Agnese  and  Gastaldi  496, 4d7 

The  case  as  represented  by  Sebastian  Mttnster  .  496, 499 
Inlana  expeditions  ;  Fanfilo  de  Narvaez      .  500, 501 

Surprising  adventures  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca    .  501, 502 

Legend  of  the  Seven  Cities;  Fray  Marcos  of  Nizza  .  503 
The  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola,  or  ZuHi  ....  504 
Harder  of  Fstevllnico  and  retreat  of  Fray  Marcos       •    505 

Zoiii  recollection  of  this  affair 507 

Expedition  of  Coronado  to  Cibola  and  Quivira  .  .  508 
Expedition  of  Soto  to  the  Mississippi  .        .        .     509, 510 

The  Dominicans  in  Florida 511 

The  Hagaenots  in  Brazil 511 

Ribaut  and  the  Huguenots  in  Florida  .        .        •    512 

Landonni^re  and  his  colony  at  Fort  Caroline  .  •  513 
Menendez,  the  Last  of  the  Crusaders  ....  514 
Beginnings  of  the  town  of  St.  Augustine  .  .  .  515 
Slaughter  of  the  people  in  Fort  Caroline  •  .  .  516 
The  massacres  of  Huguenots  at  Matanzas  Inlet  .  517, 518 
Approval  of  the  massacres  by  Philip  II.      .        .  519 

The  veng^eance  of  Dominique  de  Gourgues  .        .     520, 521 

Historic  importance  of  the  affair 522 

Knowledge  of  North  American  geography  about  1580, 
as  shown  in  the  maps  of  Michael  Lok  and  John 

Deo 52a-527 

Exploration  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Mississippi  val- 
leys by  the  French 528 

Samuel  de  Champlain  and  the  principal  features  of 
French  colonization  .        .        .        .        .        .        .    529 

Causes  which  drew  the  French  into  the  interior  of  the 

continent 530,531 

Bobert  Cavelier  de  La  Salle 532 

Marquette  and  Joliet ;  La  Salle's  great  undertaking  .    533 

Fort  Cr^veccsur 534 

A  thousand  miles  in  the  wilderness      .        .      ,  .     534, 535 

Defeat  of  the  mutineers 535 

Sack  of  the  Illinois  town      .        .        .        .        .         .    536 

La  Salle's  descent  of  the  Mississippi  river    .         .        •    536 

His  last  expedition,  and  death 537 

Joliet's  ideas  of  North  American  geography  .  .  538 
Father  Hennepin  in  the  Minnesota  country  .  538, 539 


CONTENTS 

His  fake  pretensioiis 540 

The  Hudson  Bay  Companj  and  the  furs  of  Bapert's 

Land 540,541 

La  V^rendrye,  and  the  French  discovery  of  the  Rocky 

mountains,  1743 542 

Discovery  of  the  Columbia  river,  1792  .  •  •  543 
Lewis  and  Chirk ;  iirst  crossing  of  the  continent,  1806  544 
Search  for  a  Northwest  Passage ;  Drake  and  Fro- 

bisher 545 

Davis  and  Barents 546 

Henry  Hudson     .        .        .        .        .        .        .     546-548 

WUliam  Baffin 548 

Effect  of  arctic  explorations  upon  the  conception  of 

Viuland 549 

Russian  conquest  of  Siberia 549 

Vitus  Bering 550 

Discovery  of  Bering  strait,  1728 551 

Bering's  discovery  of  Alaska,  1741  ....  551 
The  discovery  of  America  was  a  gradual  process  552-554 
Cessation  of  Spanish  exploring  and  colonizing  activity 

after  about  1570 554,555 

The  long  struggle  between  Spaniards  and  Moors  .  556 
Its  effect  in  throwing  discredit  upon  labour  .  557 
Its  effect  in  strengthening  religious  bigotry  .  .  558 
Spain's  crusade  in  the  Netherlands  ....  559 
Effect  of  oceanic  discovery  in  developing  Dutch  trade  559 
Conquest  of  the  Portuguese  Indies  by  the  Dutch  .  5G0 
Disastrous  residts  of  persecuting  heretics  .  .  .  5G1 
Expulsion  of  the  Moriscoes  from  Spain,  and  its  ter- 
rible consequences 562, 563 

Dreadful  work  of  the  Inquisition         ....    564 
It  was  a  device  for  insuring  the  survival  of  the  on- 
fittest        565 

The  Spanish  policy  of  crushing  out  individualism  re- 
sulted in  universal  stag^tion  ....     566, 567 
It  has  been  the  policy  of  England  to  give  full  scope  to 

individualism 567,568 

That  policy  has  been  the  chief  cause  of  the  success  of 
English  people  in  founding  new  nations    .        •        .    569 


CONTENTS. 


APPENDIX. 

A.  Toficanelli'fl  letter  to  Columbas,  with  the  enclosed 

letter  to  Martinez 571 

B.  The  bull  « Inter  Cetera,"  with  Eden's  translation  .    580 

C.  List  of  officers  and  sailors  in  the  first  voyage  of 

Columbus 594 

D.  List  of  suryivors  of  the  first  voyage  around  the 

world •    598 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FA«1 

Map  of  the  New  Discoveries,  made  in  1500  bj  the 
pilot,  Juan  de  La  Cosa,  redrawn  after  the  sketch  ao- 
companying  Humboldt's  Examen  critiqae,  etc.  Frontispiece 

Sketch  of  part  of  the  Cantino  map,  1502, /rom  Win- 
sor^s  America .        .      21 

Facsimile  of  title-page  of  the  original  Italian  edition 
of  the  letter  from  Yespucius  to  Soderini,  reduced 
from  the  facsimile  in  Vamhagen*s  Amerigo  Vespucci  .      41 

First  voyage  of  Yespucius  (with  Pinzon  and  Solis, 
1497-98),  sketched  by  the  author,  after  Vartihagen     .      54 

Table  of  principal  Spanish  and  Portuguese  voyages 
south  of  the  tropic  of  Cancer,  from  Columbus  to 
Magellan,  compiled  by  the  author        .        .        .        62, 63 

Sketch  of  the  Florida  coasts,  from  the  Cantino  map, 
1502,  sketched  by  the  author 75 

Waldseemiiller's  map,  called  <<  Tabula  Terre  Nove," 
cir.  1507,  from  Winsor's  America      .        .      Facing      78 

Second,  third,  and  fourth  voyages  of  Yespucius,  sketched 
by  the  author,  after  Vamhagen 99 

Johann  Ruysch's  Map  of  the  World,  ^om  the  Ptolemy 
of  1508,  reduced  from  conical  to  Mercator's  projection 
by  the  author 114, 115 

Western  half  of  the  Lenox  globe,  cir.  1510,  from  Win-- 
sor*s  America 120 

Sketch  of  part  of  the  globe  of  Orontins  Finseus,  1531, 
redrawn  and  abridged  by  the  author  from  the  reduction 
to  Mercator's  projection  in  Stevens's  Historical  and 
Geographical  Notes  .        .        .        .        .        .        .     123 

Facsimile  of  the  passage  in  which  Waldseemiiller  sug- 
gested that  Quarta  Pars  should  be  called  America, 


XXIV  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

photographed^  en  slightly  reduced  scale,  from  a  page  in 
the  copy  of  the  Cosmographice  Introductio  (edition  of 
August,  1507)  in  the  library  of  Harvard  University  .  136 
Part  of  the  map  attributed  to  Leonardo  da  Vinci, 
cir.  1514,  —  earliest  known  map  with  the  name 
"  America," /rom  IVinsor^s  America  .  .  .  .  147 
Sketch  of  Gerard  Mercator's  map,  1541, /ram  Winsor^s 

America 153 

Ships  of  the  time  of  YespuciuB,  facsimile  of  woodcut  in 
the  original  edition  of  the  letter  to  Soderini,  from  Vam^ 

hagen*s  Ainerigo  Vespucci 168 

Jan  Stobnicza's  map,  1512, /rom  Winson's  America  178, 179 
Magellan's  rente  across  the  Pacific,  sketched  by  the  au- 

thor 201 

Table  of  the  succession  (elective)  and  of  the  relation- 
ships of  the  eleven  Mexican  tlacatecuhtli,  or  ''chiefs- 
of-men,"  compiled  by  the  author         .        .        •        •    225 
Bas-reliefs  from    Palenque,  from  Stephens's  Central 

America 230,231 

The  Mexican  pueblos  in  1519,  sketched  by  the  author  •  251 
The  YaUej  of  Mexico  in  1519,  ditto     ....    260 

The  Isthmus  of  Darien,  ditto 369 

Map  illustrating  the  conquest  of  Peru,  ditto  .  .  397 
Map  of  Tuzulutlan  and  neighbourhood,  ditto  •  •  466 
Ancient  Nahuatl  Flute  Melodies, /rom  Brinton's  GUC' 

gUence 469 

Sketch  of  Agnese's  map,  1536, /rom  Winsor's  America  496 
Sketch  of  Gastaldi's  Carta  Marina,  1548,  (fi^to  .  .  497 
Sebastian  Miinster's  map,  1540,  ditto  .  .  .  498, 499 
A  street  in  Zui&i, /rom  an  article  by  F,  H.  Cushing  in 

Century  Magazine,  new  series,  vol.  iii.        .        .        .    506 
Michael  Lok*s  map,  1582, /rom  Winsor^s  America     524, 525 

Dr.  John  Dee's  map,  1580,  ditto 527 

Louis  Joliet's  map,  1673,  ditto 539 

Specimen  of  the  handwriting  of  Columbus,  from  Har^ 
risse*s  Notes  on  Columbus  •        •        •       •        •        •    579 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

t 

MUNDU8  NOVU8. 

Sometimes  in  Wagner's  musical  dramas  the 
introduction  of  a  few  notes  from  some  leading 
melody  foretells  the  inevitable  catastrophe  toward 
which  the  action  is  moving;  as  when  in  Lohen- 
grin's bridal  chamber  the  well-known  sound  of  the 
distant  Grail  motive  steals  suddenly  upon  the  ear, 
and  the  heart  of  the  rapt  listener  is  smitten  with 
a  sense  of  impending  doom.  So  in  the  drama  of 
maritime  discovery,  as  glimpses  of  new  worlds  were 
beginning  to  reward  the  enterprising  crowns  of 
Spain  and  Portugal,  for  a  moment  there  came  from 
the  north  a  few  brief  notes  fraught  with  ominous 
portent.  The  power  for  whom  destiny  had  reserved 
the  world  empire  of  which  these  southern  nations 
—  so  noble  in  aim,  so  mistaken  in  policy  —  were 
dreaming  stretched  forth  her  hand,  in  quiet  disre- 
gard of  papal  bulls,  and  laid  it  upon  the  western 
shore  of  the  ocean.  It  was  only  for  a  moment, 
and  long  years  were  to  pass  before  the  conse- 
quences were  developed.  But  in  truth  the  first 
fateful  note   that  heralded  the  coming  EngUsh 


2  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA, 

supremacy  was  sounded  when  John  Cabot's  tiny 
craft  sailed  out  from  the  Bristol  channel  on  a 
bright  May  morning  of  1497. 

The  story  of  the  Cabots  can  be  briefly  told. 
Less  is  known  about  them  and  their  voyages  than 
one  coidd  wish.^  John  Cabot,  a  native 
of  Genoa,  moved  thence  to  Venice, 
where,  after  a  residence  of  fifteen  years,  he  was 
admitted  to  full  rights  of  citizenship  in  1476. 
He  married  a  Venetian  lady  and  had  three  sons, 
the  second  of  whom,  Sebastian,  was  bom  in  Ven- 
ice some  time  before  March,  1474.  Nothing  is 
known  about  the  life  of  John  Cabot  at  Venice, 
except  that  he  seems  to  have  been  a  merchant  and 
mariner,  and  that  once  in  Arabia,  meeting  a  car- 
avan laden  with  spices,  he  made  particidar  in- 
quiries regarding  the  remote  countries  where  such 
goods  were  obtained.  It  is  not  impossible  that 
he  may  have  reasoned  his  way,  independently  of 
Columbus,  to  the  conclusion  that  those  countries 
might  be  reached  by  sailing  westward;^  but  there 
is  no  evidence  that  such  was  the  case.  About 
1490  Cabot  moved  to  England  with  his  family  and 
made  his  home  in  Bristol,^  and  he  may  have  been 

^  The  best  critical  discussion  of  the  subject  is  that  of  M.  Har- 
risse,  Jean  et  Sihattien  Cabot,  Paris,  1882.  Most  of  the  author*! 
conclusions  seem  to  me  very  strongly  supported. 

^  This  seems  to  be  implied  by  the  words  of  the  late  Dr.  Charles 
Deane :  —  **  Accepting  the  new  views  as  to  *  the  roundness  of  the 
earth/  as  Columbus  had  done,  he  was  quite  disposed  to  put  them 
to  a  practical  test.'*  Winsor,  Narr.  and  Crit.  Hitt.^  vol.  iii.  p.  1. 
Bnt  is  it  not  strange  to  find  so  learned  a  writer  aUnding  to  the 
ancient  doctrine  of  the  earth's  globular  form  as  **  new  "  in  the  time 
of  Columbus  I 

*  M.  d'Avezao*!  suggestion  {BvUetin  de  la  SociiU  dt  GlogrOf* 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  8 

one  of  the  persons  who  were  convinced  at  that  time 
by  the  arguments  of  Bartholomew  Columbus. 

Bristol  was  then  the  principal  seaport  of  Eng- 
land, and  the  centre  of  trade  for  the  Iceland  fish- 
eries.^ The  merchants  of  that  town  were 
fond  of  maritime  enterprise,  and  their  cuanuot 
ships  had  already  ventured  some  distance 
out  upon  the  Atlantic.  William  of  Worcester  in- 
forms us  that  in  the  sunmier  of  1480  the  wealthy 
merchant  John  Jay  and  another  sent  out  a  couple 
of  ships,  one  of  them  of  eighty  tons  burthen,  com- 
manded by  Thomas  Lloyd,  ^^the  most  scientific 
mariner  in  all  England,''  in  order  to  find  ^^the  is- 
land of  Brazil  to  the  west  of  Ireland,"  but  after 
sailing  the  sea  for  nine  weeks  without  making  any 
discovery  foul  weather  sent  them  back  to  Ireland.^ 
From  a  letter  of  Pedro  de  Ayala,  one  of  the  Span- 
ish embassy  in  London  in  1498,  it  would  appear 

pkie,  Paris,  1872,  C*  s^rie,  torn.  iy.  p.  44)  that  Columbiu  may  hare 
CGOsnlted  vrith  Cabot  at  Bristol  in  1477  seems,  therefore,  quite 
improbable. 

^  See  Hunt^s  Bristoi^  pp.  44, 137 ;  Magnnsson,  Om  de  EngeUkes 
Handel  p<ia  Island,  Copenhagen,  1833,  p.  147. 

*  "1480  die  jnllij  navis  .  .  .  et  Joh[ann]is  Jay  jnnioris  pon- 
deris  80  doliorum  incepemnt  yiagium  apud  portnm  Bristollin  de 
Kyngrode  usque  ad  insulam  de  Brasylle  in  occidental!  parte  Hiber- 
nis,  sulcando  maria  per  .  .  .  et  .  .  .  Thlyde  [i.  e.  Th.  Lyde  <= 
Lloyd]  est  raagister  scientificus  marinarius  tooius  AngliiB,  et  noua 
Tenemnt  BristollisB  die  Inne  18  die  septembris,  quod  dicta  navis 
Telaverunt  maria  per  circa  0  menses  neo  invenerunt  insulam  sed 
per  tempratas  maris  reversi  sunt  usque  portum  ...  in  Hibemia 
pro  reposioione  navis  et  mariniorum.''  Itinerarium  Willdmi  de 
Wjfrcestre,  MS.  in  library  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  Cambridge, 
No.  210,  p.  195,  apud  Harrisse,  op.  cit.  p.  44.  See  also  Fox-Bourne, 
English  Merchants,  voL  i.  p.  105.  Though  the  Latin  says  nine 
numths,  it  is  evident  that  only  nine  ufeeks  are  meant  to  be  included 
between  ^  a  day  of  July  ^  and  the  18th  day  of  September. 


4  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

that  seTeral  expeditions,  beginning  perhaps  as 
early  as  1491,  may  have  sailed  from  Bristol,  at  the 
instigation  of  John  Cabot,  in  search  of  the  imagi- 
nary islands  of  Brazil  and  Antilia.^ 

We  are  told  that  the  news  of  the  first  voyage  of 
Columbus  was  received  by  the  Cabots  and  their 

English  friends  with  much  admiration. 
newBfnm       To  havc  rcachcd  the  coast  of  China  by 

sailing  westward  was  declared  a  wonder- 
ful achievement,  and  it  was  resolved  to  go  and  do 
likewise.  On  the  21st  of  January,  1496,  the  Span- 
ish ambassador  Puebla  informed  his  sovereigns  that 
^a  person  had  come,  like  Columbus,  to  propose  to 
the  king  of  England  an  enterprise  like  that  of  the 
Indies."  On  the  28th  of  March  the  sovereigns 
instructed  Puebla  to  warn  Heniy  YII.  that  such 
an  enterprise  could  not  be  put  into  execution  by 
him  without  prejudice  to  Spain  and  Portugal.' 
But  before  this  remonstrance  arrived,  the  king  had 
already  issued  letters  patent,  authorizing  John 
Cabot  and  his  three  sons  ^^to  sail  to  the  east,  west, 
or  north,  with  five  ships  carrying  the  English  flag, 
to  seek  and  discover  all  the  islands,  countries,  re- 
gions, or  provinces  of  pagans  in  whatever  part  of 
the  world."  ^  The  expedition  must  return  to  the 
port  of  Bristol,  and  the  king  was  to  have  one  fifth 
of  the  profits.     By  implicitly  excluding  southerly 

^  AyaU  to  Ferdiiuuid  and  Isabella,  Jnly  25,  1408;  HarrisBe, 
p.  329.  The  reader  has  doabtle»  already  obeerved  these  f  abuloui 
islands  on  the  Toseanelli  map ;  see  abore,  vol.  i.  p.  357. 

^  Feidinand  and  Isabella  to  Paebla,  MaitOi  28. 1400;  Harrisae, 
p.  315. 

'  '*  Pro  Johanne  Cabot  et  filiis  snis  super  Terra  Inooputa  isTe*- 
tiganda,'*  Marah  5, 1496;  HanisM,  p.  313. 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  5 

courses  it  was  probably  intended,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, to  avoid  occasions  for  conflict  with  Spain  or 
Portugal. 

The  voyage  seems  to  have  been  made  with  a 
single  ship,  named  the  Matthew,  or  Matthews, 
after  the  evangeUst,  or  perhaps  after 

17       T   T_  .  1       rrti  John  Cabot 

some  iiinglisn  patron.^     Ihe  crew  niun-  fiodauiid 
bered  ei&rhteen  men.     Sebastian  Cabot  clthay.juna 

•  24  1497. 

may  quite  probably  have  accompanied 
his  father.  They  sailed  from  Bristol  early  in 
May,  1497,^  and  discovered  what  was  supposed  to 
be  the  Chinese  coast,  "  in  the  territory  of  the  Grand 
Cham,"  on  the  24th  of  June.  By  the  end  of  July 
they  had  returned  to  Bristol,  and  on  the  10th  of 
August  we  find  thrifty  Henry  VII.  giving  "to 
hym   that  founde  the   new  isle"  the  mimificent 

^  Barrett,  History  and  Antiquities  of  Bristol,  1789,  p.  172.  A 
contemporary  MS.,  preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  says  that 
besides  the  flagship  equipped  by  the  king  there  were  three  or 
four  others,  apparently  equipped  by  private  enterprise :  —  "/n  anno 
13  Henr,  VII.  This  yere  the  Kyng  at  the  besy  request  and  sup- 
plicacion  of  a  Straunger  venisian,  which  [i.  e.  who]  by  a  Coeart 
|i.  e-  chart]  made  hymself  expert  in  knowyng  of  the  world  caused 
the  Kynge  to  manne  a  ship  w^  vytaill  and  other  necessairies  for  to 
seche  an  Iland  wherein  the  said  Straunger  surmysed  to  be  grete 
commodities :  w^  which  ship  by  the  Kynges  grace  so  Rygged  went 
3  or  4  moo  oute  of  Bristowe,  the  said  Straunger  beyng  Conditor 
of  the  saide  Flete,  wheryn  dyuers  merchauntes  as  well  of  London 
as  Bristow  aventured  goodes  and  sleight  merchaundises,  which  de- 
parted from  the  West  Cuntrey  in  the  begjTinyng  of  Somer,  but  to 
this  present  moneth  came  nevir  Knowlege  of  their  exployt."  See 
Harrisse,  p.  316.  On  page  50  M.  Ilarrisse  seems  disposed  to  adopt 
this  statement,  but  its  authority  is  fatally  impaired  by  the  last 
sentence,  which  shows  that  already  the  writer  had  mixed  up  the 
first  voyage  with  the  second,  as  was  afterwards  commonly  done. 

'^  The  date  is  often  incorrectly  given  as  1494,  owing  to  an  old 
misreading  of  m.  cccc.  xcmi  instead  of  h.  cgcg.  xcvn. 


6  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

largess  of  <£10  with  which  to  celebrate  the  achieye- 
ment.^ 

The  news  in  England  seems  to  have  taken  the 
form  that  Cabot  had  discovered  the  isles  of  Brazil 
and  the  Seven  Cities,  and  the  kingdom  of  the 
Great  Khan.  A  Venetian  gentleman,  Lorenzo 
Pasqualigo,  writing  from  London  August  23, 1497, 
says  that  ^^  honours  are  heaped  upon  Cabot,  he  is 
called  Grand  Admiral,  he  is  dressed  in  silk,  and 
the  English  run  after  him  like  madmen."^  It 
seemed  to  Cabot  that  by  returning  t6  the  point 
John  Cabot  whcrc  he  had  found  land,  and  then  pro- 
gjJJSSl^S*^  ceeding  somewhat  to  the  southward,  he 
ci^I!^^  ^  could  find  the  wealthy  island  of  Cipango, 
April,  1498.      g^^  ^g  ^jjjjg  ^g  j^  ^^^  Yiear  that  any 

dread  of  collision  with  Spain  prevailed  upon  the 
king  to  discoimtenance  such  an  undertaking.  A 
second  expedition,  consisting  of  five  or  six  ships, 
sailed  from  Bristol  in  April,  1498,  and  explored  a 
part  of  the  coast  of  North  America.  In  a  despatch 
dated  Jidy  25,  Ayala  told  his  sovereigns  that  its 
return  was  expected  in  September.  One  of  the 
vessels,  much  damaged  by  stress  of  weather,  took 
refuge  in  an  Irish  port.  When  the  others  returned 
we  do  not  know,  nor  do  we  hear  anything  more 
of  John  Cabot.  It  is  probable  that  he  sailed  as 
commander  of  the   expedition,  and  it  has  been 

^  Harriflse,  pp.  51,  50.  **  Fazi  bona  ziera,'*  says  Pasqualigo ; 
''pour  s'amnaer,'*  Bays  Hairisse,  or,  as  one  might  put  it,  ^*  to  go 
on  a  spree. '^  It  most  be  remembered  that  £10  then  was  equiva- 
lent to  at  least  £100  of  to-day.  The  king  also  g^ranted  to  Cabot 
a  yearly  pension  of  £20,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  receipts  of  the  Bris- 
tol custom-house. 

^  The  letter  is  given  in  HaniMe,  p.  822. 


MUNDVS  NOVVS.  7 

Boppoaed  tliat  he  may  hare  died  upon  tlie  voyage, 
leaving  the  command  to  his  son  Sebastian.  It  has 
further  been  supposed,  on  eztietnety  slight  evi- 
dence, that  Sebastian  may  have  conducted  a  third 
voyage  in  1501  or  1503. 

Sebastian  Cabot  married  a  Spanish  lady,  and 
seems  to  have  gone  to  Spain  soon  after  the  death 
of  Henry  VU.'  He  entered  the  service 
of  Ferdinand  of  An^n  October  20,  otsstMUu 
1512.  In  1518  Charles  V.  appointed  ^'^ 
him  Pilot  Major  of  Spain;  we  shall  presently  find 
him  at  the  congresB  of  Badajoz  in  1524 ;  from  1526 
to  1530  he  was  engaged  in  a  disastrouB  expedition 
to  the  river  La  Plata,  and  on  his  return  he  was 
thrown  into  prison  because  of  complaints  urged 
against  him  by  his  mutinous  crews.  The  Council 
of  the  Indies  condemned  him  to  two  years  of  exile 
at  Oran  in  Africa,^  but  the  emperor  seems  to  have 
rmnitted  the  sentence  as  unjust,  and  presently  be 
returned  to  the  dischat^  of  his  duties  as  Pilot 
Major.  In  1548  he  left  the  service  of  Spain  and 
went  back  to  England,  where  he  was  appointed 
governor  of  a  company  of  merehanta,  oi^anized 
for  the  purpose  of  discovering  a  northeast  pass^e 
to  Chiaa.^  This  enterprise  opened  a  trade  between 
England  and  Russia  by  way  of  the  White  Sea ; 
and  in  1556  the  Muscovy  Company  received  its 
charter,  and  Sebastian  Cabot  was  appointed  its 
governor.  He  seems  to  have  died  in  London  in 
1557,  or  soon  afterwards. 

1  Peter  Hartyr,  aeo.  iii.  lib.  vi.  fol,  55. 

*  NsvBirete,  BMiateca  maritina,  torn.  ii.  p.  699. 

■  Wiuoi,  yorr.  and  Crit.  Hiit.,  toL  iii.  p.  6. 


H  THE  mSCOVEBT  OF  AMERICA. 

The  life  of  the  Tounger  Cabot  thus  extenck^  over 
the  wh'^le  of  the  period  during  idiich  £iiropeaiis 
r^trpy-xitim      ^'^^   gradiudlT  awakening  to  the 


«iM«M  b>  tbe  toimdins:  fact  that  the  western  ooasts 
JlSJL^iS^  ^  ^^  Atlantic  were  not  tie  cxiasts  of 
2;^  .tii'       Aijia*  but  of  a  new  continent,  tiie  exist- 


^*^''  enee  of  which  had  never  been  sofipeetod 

by  any  human  being,  except  in  the  unheeded  gness 
of  Stmbo  cited  in  a  previous  chapter.^  The  axty 
years  following  1497  saw  new  geographical  &cts 
a^^j;umulate  much  faster  than  geographical  theoiy 
c^>uld  interpret  theuL,  as  the  series  of  old  maps 
reproduced  in  the  present  volume  will  abundantly 
show.  By  the  end  of  that  time  the  revolution  in 
knowledge  had  become  so  tremendous,  and  men 
were  carried  so  far  away  from  the  old  point  of 
view,  that  their  minds  grew  confused  as  to  the 
earlier  stages  by  which  the  change  had  be^i 
effected.  Ilence  the  views  and  purposes  ascribed 
to  the  Cabots  by  writers  in  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century  have  served  only  to  perplex 
the  subject  in  the  minds  of  later  historians.  In 
Itamusio's  collection  of  voyages  an  anonymous 
writer  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Sebastian  Cabot 
more  or  less  autobiographical  narrative,  in  which 
there  are  almost  as  many  blunders  as  lines.  In 
this  narrative  the  death  of  John  Cabot  is  placed 
l>efore  1496,  and  Sebastian  is  said  to  have  con- 
du(,*ted  the  first  voyage  in  that  year.  It  thus  hap- 
jK'ncd  that  until  quite  recently  the  discovery  of 

'  S«e  tthove,  vol.  i.  p.  370. 

^  Rttiuoftio,  BaccoUa  di  Navigathni  e  Viaggi^  Venice,  1550, 
torn.  L 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  9 

the  continent  of  North  America  was  attributed  to 
the  son,  while  the  father  was  wellnigh  forgotten. 
It  is  to  Bamusio's  narrator,  moreover,  that  we 
owe  the  ridiculous  statement  —  repeated  by  almost 
every  historian  from  that  day  to  this  —  that  the 
purpose  of  the  voyage  of  1498  was  the  discovery 
of  a  ^^northwest  passage"  to  the  coast  of  Asia! 
As  I  shall  hereafter  show,  the  idea  of  a  northwest 
passage  through  or  around  what  we  call  America 
to  the  coast  of  Asia  did  not  spring  up  in  men's 
minds  until  after  1522,  and  it  was  one  of  the  con- 
sequences of  the  voyage  of  Magellan.^  There  is 
no  reason  for  supposing  that  Sebastian  Cabot  in 
1498  suspected  that  the  coast  before  him  was  any- 
thing but  that  of  Asia,  and  it  does  not  appear  that 
he  contributed  anything  toward  the  discovery  of 
the  fact  that  the  newly  found  lands  were  part  of  a 
new  continent,  though  he  lived  long  enough  to  be- 
come familiar  with  that  fact,  as  gradually  revealed 
through  the  voyages  of  other  navigators. 

The  slight  contemporary  mention,  which  is  all 
that  we  have  of  the  voyages  of  the  Cabots  in  1497 
and  1498,  does  not  enable  us  to  deter-  vhatp^^rtoi 
mine  with  precision  the  parts  of  the  Sj^tST^ 
North  American  coast  that  were  vis-  c^^o^^^***** 
ited.     We  know  that  a  chart  of  the  first  voyage 
was  made,  for  both  the  Spanish  envoys,  Puebla 
and  Ayala,  writing  between  August  24,  1497,  and 
July  25,  1498,   mentioned  having  seen  such   a 
chart,  and  from  an  inspection  of  it  they  concluded 
that  the  distance  run  did  not  exceed  400  leagues. 
The  Venetian  merchant,  Pasqualigo,  gave  the  dis- 

^  See  below,  pp.  487-49a 


H>         irm^  pjifViMrsasr  nr 


;r  '>iAUk€- 


toii»'.  ^Jtii4#itt  ioW»m(9i.  -tilt  iwiir  of  -tmr  ***grrLUirT  or 

«x«f  «i(«j^  tMri    B^^^Hlrti^  "U*  nanfOBELi.    -ikx. 
€iii4\H   iiAJ€i'   uvui>  tift  «uMSi   ad  latrwutir 
Ai^Mi-  1h:«*  ^i«u«(i.  max  mizL  isiisi}  ^tsK-ii 


tllV'iM^tirMiiM 


SSiSir^    ^»ui^  tMji  M^  W  afeffl-  B  frruwiup ITT 
^**^  "CcM.  <^,4rt#iii.-  ikff  JD  :Sit  sum  nc 

"/4^*y  ^l;Uj*yw  ^e>ft<<^.-**  iL  *.  "^fimt  lauc  §mch  :.•  *"  jniS 

WmUmm  ^.^ibVMi..  AMt  tJMiiu  jtu  tdKr  jT-tafiT  ^  -osT  Ssxiimr 

Mi  ^  Auv^'AMAi^.  »'Mkjk  <w«»SVT  littT  csuOfsi  prvma 
iijcf^n  p.'*Jis^4.i 4(Ab<]i  4(  W^  i4attti  war  brtdisy  msmeii 

4M>f.''  iih$4%ii^  trtfm  ihU  iuffjrmsOMm  h  b^  hnn 
mf^i¥^¥^  ni^^  ilk  M^yigp)il/>r««  fomng  thb  St. 
^>/l^;  w^iA.rl^  Wii  ^mU  PriiM^  Kdward  isbnd,  coasted 
t^4M4$4^i  iim  unit  *4  in,  I^wrvfooe  and  paawd  oat 
li$^*H4igf^  itm  ttiruii  4tl  Ifelb;  UUf«     The  two  islandi 

fi#,  4M«4  i«  ##«Hr  IM  iIm(  flf«il/iMil  lAhftirj  ut  PrngU,    There  k  m  Iimq 
M^Mi  ^«M4wi|ii  /#f  k  ii#  M/Uum  in  iliiiTUMM**  Jean  et  Sibaatiem  CahttL, 
M\iU  AmiMSM  hy  M  <I'A¥i»m«,  /iu^/ii  dt  la  SoeUii  de  Gto^ 
fftaiihU,  \^,  4*  U¥\m,  imn.  ilr.  |rp.  W^-W). 

^  'I'tfM  4*l«  f«  wriiNfr.    TtM  fimt  two  l9it«n  af Ur  zc  ihaiild  bt 
JuilNNl  Hfi»UMNr  M  iIm  iMiHom,  nMking  ft  r. 


>    ■■         >*t7i 


VUNDUS  Novns.  11 

Been  on  the  etarboard  would  then  be  points  on  the 
northern  coaat  of  Newf  oimdland,  and  a  consider- 
able part  of  Pasqnaligo's  300  leases  of  coasting 
would  thus  be  accounted  for.  But  inasmuch  as  the 
Matthew  had  returned  to  Bristol  by  the  first  of 
August,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  so  long  a  route 
could  have  been  traversed  within  five  weeks. 

If  we  could  be  sure  that  the  map  of  1544  in  its 
present  shape  and  with  all  its  legends  emanated 
from  Sebastian  Cabot,  and  was  drawn  with  the 
aid  of  charts  made  at  the  time  of  discovery,  its 
authoritr^  would  be  very  high  indeed.  But  there 
are  some  reasons  for  supposing  it  to  have  been 
amended  op  "touched  up  "  by  the  engraver,  and  it 
is  evidently  compiled  from  charts  made  later  than 
1536,  for  it  shows  the  results  of  Jacques  Car- 
tier's  explorations  in  the  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 
Its  statement  as  to  the  first  landfall  is,  moreover, 
in  conflict  with  the  testimony  of  the 
merchant  Robert  Thome,  of  Bristol,  in  m  Rob«t 
1527,'  and  with  that  of  two  maps  made 
at  Seville  in  1527  and  1529,  according  to  which  the 
"  prima  tierra  vista  "was  somewhere  on  the  coast  of 
Labrador.  It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  John 
Cabot  was  instructed  to  take  northerly  and  westerly 
courses,  not  southerly,  and  an  important  despatch 
from  Raimondo  de  Soncino,  in  London,  to  the 
Duke  of  Milan,  dated  December  18,  1497,  de- 
scribes his  course  in  accordance  with  these  instruc- 
tions. It  is  perfectly  definite  and  altt^ther  prob- 
able. According  to  this  account  Cabot  sailed  from 
Bristol  in  a  small  ship,  manned  by  eighteen  per- 
'  BaUojt,  PrineipaU  NavigMioat,  toL  i.  p.  2I0> 


12  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

sons,  and  having  cleared  the  western  shores  of 
Ireland,  turned  northward,  after  a  few 
M  deacribed  QSLjs  headed  I or  Asia,  and  stood  mainly 
west  till  he  reached  "Terra  Firma," 
where  he  planted  the  royal  standard,  and  forthwith 
returned  to  England.^  In  other  words,  he  followed 
the  common  custom  in  those  days  of  first  running  to 
a  chosen  parallel,  and  then  following  that  parallel 
to  the  point  of  destination.  Such  a  course  could 
hardly  have  landed  him  anywhere  save  on  the 
coast  of  Labrador.  Supposing  his  return  voyage 
simply  to  have  reversed  this  course,  running  south- 
easterly to  the  latitude  of  the  English  channel 
and  then  sailing  due  east,  he  may  easily  have 
coasted  300  leagues  with  land  to  starboard  before 
finally  bearing  away  from  Cape  Race.  This  view 
is  in  harmony  with  the  fact  that  on  the  desolate 
coasts  passed  he  saw  no  Indians  or  other  human 
beings.  He  noticed  the  abundance  of  codfish, 
however,  in  the  waters  about  Newfoundland,  and 
declared  that  the  English  would  no  longer  need  to 
go  to  Iceland  for  their  fish.     Our  informant  adds 

^  '*  Cum  lino  piccolo  naviglio  e  xriii  peraone  se  pose  ala  f  oitana, 
et  partitosi  da  Bristo  porto  occidentale  de  questo  regno  et  paasato 
Ibemia  pih  occidentale,  e  poi  alzatosi  verso  il  septentrione,  ooraen> 
m6  ad  navig^are  ale  parte  orientale  [L  e.  toward  eastern  Asia], 
lassandosi  (fra  qnalche  gioml)  la  trainontana  ad  mano  drita,  et 
havendo  assai  errato,  infine  capitoe  in  terra  f  erma,  dove  poeto  la 
bandera  regia,  et  tolto  la  possessione  per  qnesta  Alteza,  et  preso 
oerti  seg^nali,  se  ne  retomato."  See  Harrisse,  p.  324.  The  plirase 
'^havendo  assai  errato"  is  rendered  by  Dr.  Deane  '*  having-  wan- 
dered about  considerably  *'  (Winsor,  Narr.  and  Crit.  Hist.,  iii.  54), 
but  in  this  context  it  seems  to  me  rather  to  mean  "  having  wan- 
dered sufficiently  far  [from  Europe],"  L  e.  having  gone  far  enough 
he  found  Terra  Firma. 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  18 

diat  Master  John,  being  foreign-bom  and  poor, 
would  have  been  set  down  as  a  liar  had  not  his 
crew,  who  were  mostly  Bristol  men,  confirmed 
everything  he  said. 

With  regard  to  the  coasts  visited  in  the  expedi- 
tion of  1498  our  sole  contemporary  authority  is  the 
remarkable  map  made  in  1600  by  the  LftCom»8 
Biscayan  pilot,  Juan  de  La  Cosa,  who  °**P'  ^^^' 
had  sailed  with  Columbus  on  his  first  and  second 
voyages.  So  far  as  is  known,  this  is  the  earliest 
map  in  existence  made  since  1492,  and  its  impor- 
tance is  very  great.  ^    Las  Casas  calls  La  Cosa  the 

^  A  copy  of  the  western  sheet  of  this  celebrated  mapf  sketched 
npoB  a  reduced  scale  after  the  copy  in  Haraboldt^s  Exam^n  cri- 
tique, forms  the  frontispiece  to  the  present  volume.  The  original 
was  found  and  identified  by  Humboldt  in  the  library  of  Baron 
Walekenaer  in  1832,  and  after  the  death  of  the  latter  it  was 
bought  April  21,  1853,  at  an  auction  sale  in  Paris,  for  the  queen 
of  Spain  against  Henry  Stevens,  for  4,020  francs.  It  is  now  to  be 
Men  at  the  Naval  Museum  in  Madrid.  It  was  made  by  La  Cosa 
at  Puerto  Santa  Maria,  near  Cadiz,  at  some  time  between  June 
and  October,  in  the  year  1500  (see  Leg^ina,  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  Ma- 
drid, 1877,  p.  70).  It  is  superbly  illuminated  with  colours  and 
g(dd.  Its  scale  of  proportions,  remarkably  correct  in  some  places, 
is  notably  defective  in  others.  The  Newfoundland  region  is  prop- 
•rly  brought  near  to  the  papal  meridian  of  demarcation,  and  what 
we  eall  Brazil  is  out  by  it ;  which  may  possibly  indicate  that  La 
Cosa  had  heard  the  news  of  Cabral^s  discovery,  presently  to  be 
noticed,  which  reached  Lisbon  late  in  June.  The  Azores  and 
Cape  Verde  islands  are  much  too  far  west.  The  voyages  of  which 
the  results  are  distinctly  indicated  upon  the  map  are  the  first  three 
of  Columbus,  the  two  of  the  Cabots,  that  of  Ojeda  (1498-iH)),  and 
that  of  Pinzon  (1499-1500),  and,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  the 
map  gives  very  important  and  striking  testimony  regarding  the 
first  voyage  of  Vespucios.  The  coast-lines  and  islands  marked 
by  La  Cosa  with  names  and  flag^  represent  results  of  actual  explo- 
ration GO  far  as  known  to  La  Cosa  or  exhibited  to  him  by  means 
of  charts  or  log-books.  The  coast-lines  and  islands  without 
represent  in  general  his  unverified  theory  of  the  sitnationi 


14 


THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 


best  pilot  of  his  day.  His  reputation  as  a  carto- 
grapher was  also  high,  and  his  maps  were  much 

admired.  The  map  before  us  was  evi- 
Yovages  prob-  dcutly  drawu  with  honesty  and  care.  It 
frow  L!!br».  rcprescuts  the  discoveries  of  the  Cabots 
the'Rui/<rf^st.  as  extending  over  360  leagues  of  coast, 
perhaps  M  far  or  about  as  far  as  from  the  strait  of 

Belle  Isle  to  Cape  Cod,  and  the  names 
from  "Cabo  de  Ynglaterra"  to  "Cabo  Descubier- 
to  "  are  probably  taken  from  English  sources.  But 
whether  the  coast  exhibited  is  that  of  the  conti- 
nent within  the  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  or  the 
southern  coast  of  Newfoundland  with  that  of  Nova 
Scotia,   is  by  no  means  clear.  ^     The  names  end 

Of  the  northern  island  "  Frislanda  **  he  must  probably  have  been 
told  by  Columbus,  for  he  could  not  have  known  anything  of  the 
Zeno  narrative,  first  made  public  in  1558.  In  the  middle  of  the 
west  side  of  the  map  is  a  vignette  representing  Christopher  (the 
Christ-bearar)  wading  through  the  waters,  carrying  upon  his 
shoulders  the  infant  Christ  or  Sun  of  Righteousness,  to  shine  upon 
the  heathen.  At  the  bottom  of  the  vignette  is  the  legend  "  Juan 
de  la  cosa  la  fizo  en  el  puerto  des^  mr«  en  alio  de  1500."  The 
original  is  five  feet  nine  inches  long  by  three  feet  two  inches 
wide,  and  is  a  map  of  the  world.  The  full-sized  facsimile  pub- 
lished by  M.  Jomard  (in  his  Monuments  de  la  geographies  pL  zvi.) 
is  in  three  elephant  folio  sheets,  of  which  the  frontispiece  to  this 
volume  represents  the  third,  or  western.  The  hypothetical  coast- 
line of  Brazil,  at  the  bottom,  is  cut  off  square,  so  that  the  map 
may  be  there  attached  to  a  roller ;  and  beyond  the  cut-off  this 
same  coast-line  is  continued  on  the  first,  or  eastern  sheet,  as  the 
coast  of  Asia  east  of  the  Qanges.  In  the  opinion  of  most  geo- 
graphers of  that  time,  the  situation  of  Quinsay  (Hang-chow)  in 
China  would  come  a  little  to  the  west  of  the  westernmost  English 
flagstaff. 

^  The  former  view,  which  is  that  of  Humboldt,  is  perhaps  the 
more  probable.  See  Ghillany,  Geschichte  des  Seefahrers  Bitter 
Martin  Behaim^  Nuremberg,  1853,  p.  2.  The  latter  view  is  held 
by  Dr.  Kohl  (Documen*.*jry  Hittory  of  Maine,  toL  i.  p.  154),  who 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  15 

near  the  mouth  of  a  large  river,  which  may  very 
probably  be  meant  for  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  be- 
yond the  names  we  see  two  more  English  flags  with 
the  legend,  "Sea  discovered  by  Englishmen."  In- 
asmuch as  it  would  be  eminently  possible  to  sail 
through  the  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  vdthout  becoming 
aware  of  the  existence  of  Newfoundland,  except  at 
the  strait  of  Belle  Isle  (which  at  its  narrowest  is 
about  ten  miles  wide),  one  is  inclined  to  suspect 
that  the  "Isla  de  la  Trinidad"  may  represent  all 
that  the  voyagers  saw  of  that  large  island.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  on  the  so-called  Sebastian 
Cabot  map  of  1544  Newf  oimdland  does  net  yet  ap- 
pear as  a  single  mass  of  land,  but  as  an  archipel- 
ago of  not  less  than  eleven  large  islands  with  more 
than  thirty  small  ones.  By  this  time  the  reader 
is  doubtless  beginning  to  have  "a  realizing  sense  " 

identifies  ''Cabo  de  Yngflaterra*'  with  Cape  Race.  To  me  it 
seems  more  likely  that  Cabo  de  Ynglaterra  is  the  promontory  jnst 
north  of  Invnktoke  inlet  on  the  coast  of  Labrador,  and  that  the 
island  to  the  right  of  it  (Ysla  Verde)  is  meant  for  Greenland.  If, 
then,  Isla  de  la  Trinidad  is  the  northern  extremity  of  Newfound- 
land and  the  river  by  Cabo  Descubierto  is  the  St.  Lawrence,  we 
hare  a  consistent  and  not  improbable  view.  In  spite  of  the  two 
additional  flags,  the  coast  to  the  left  of  the  St.  Lawrence  is  evi- 
dently hypothetical;  the  next  river  is  probably  meant  for  the 
Hoang-ho  in  China  (called  by  Polo  the  Caramoran;  see  Yule^s 
Marco  Polo  J  ii.  104-106),  and  the  "sea  discovered  by  the  Eng- 
lish "  was  probably  supposed  to  be  the  Yellow  Sea. 

There  is  no  good  ground  for  the  statement  that  Sebastian  Cabot 
sailed  as  far  south  as  Florida.  "  The  remark  of  Peter  Martvr,  in 
1515,  about  Cabot^s  reaching  on  the  American  coast  the  latitude 
of  Gibraltar,  and  finding  himself  then  on  a  meridian  of  longitude 
far  enough  west  to  leave  Cuba  on  his  left,  is  simply  absurd,  dilem- 
matize  it  as  yon  will.  Such  a  voyage  would  have  landed  him  near 
Cincinnati/*    Stevens,  Historicai  and  Geographical  Notes,  p.  35. 


TBE  DJBOOTEET  QF  AMEKKA. 

W9m  wA  noeh  a  sunple  and  insboiiaaeoBS  affiur 


Tbe  teeoml  Torage  of  the  GdiatB  was  r^aided 
Sii  EogiauMl  a«  a  faflnre,  £or  tbe  saoke  reason  that 
iThfiteC*.  tlie  later  Tojages  <rf  Colnmbvis  ii>ere  re- 
tw  »Q?Mr  gnrded  willi  diminidiing  interest  in 
'—' *^  Spdn,  becan»  there  w«  nmeh  ooday 
and  little  profit.  Whatever  there  was  to  be  found 
on  taem  tantalizing  coasts,  it  sorely  was  not 
golden  Cathajr.  Tbe  inhospitable  shores  of  Lab- 
rador oflEered  much  less  that  was  enticing  than  the 
bakny  valleys  of  Hispaniola.  Fnrs  do  not  seem 
as  yet  to  b^ve.  attracted  attention,  and  although 
tbe  unrivalled  fisheries  were  duly  observed  and  re- 
ported, it  was  some  time  before  the  Bristol  mer- 
chants availed  themselves  of  this  information,  for 
they  considered  the  Iceland  fisheries  safer.  ^  There 
was  thus  little  to  encourage  the  cautious  Henry 
VII.  in  further  exploration.  In  1505  he  made  a 
oontracit  with  some  sailors  from  the  Azores  for  a 
voyage  to  "the  New-found-land,"  and  one  item  of 
the  result  may  be  read  in  an  account-book  of  the 
treasury ;  —  "To  Portyngales  that  brought  popyn- 
gais  and  oatts  of  the  mountaigne  with  other  Stuf 

to  the  Kinges  grace,  51."^  In  the 
aoiiiiUui,        reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  in  one  and 

the  same  year,  1527,  we  find  mention  of 
two  voyages  from  Portsmouth,  the  one  conducted 
by  John  Kut,  in   tlie  Samson  and  the  Mary  of 

*  Hunt'i  Bri$toi,  p,  187. 

*  UMTiMd,  J$an  M  Sdbatiitn  Cahot,  pp.  142, 272. 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  17 

Guilford,  the  other  by  a  certain  Master  Grube,  in 
the  Dominus  Vobiscum,  the  latter  being  perhaps 
the  most  obscure  of  all  the  voyages  of  that  century. 
I  suspect  that  the  two  voyages  were  identical  and 
the  reports  multifarious.^  Rut's  expedition  was 
undertaken^  at  the  instance  of  Robert  Thome,  of 
Bristol,  for  the  purpose  of  finding  a  route  to  Ca- 
thay. It  encountered  vast  icebergs;  the  Samson 
was  lost  with  all  its  crew,  and  the  Mary  "durst 
not  go  no  further  to  the  northward  for  fear  of 
more  ice ; "  so  after  reaching  Cape  Race  and  the 
bay  of  St.  John's  she  returned  to  England.^ 

We  hear  of  no  further  enterprises  of  this  sort 
during  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  The  lack  of 
interest  in  maritime  discovery  is  shown  change  in  the 
by  the  very  small  number  of  books  on  tJJ^^the*" 
such  matters  published  in  England,  —  vm.°id  wS 
only  twelve  before  1576.8  We  may  o'*^*'*"*- 
suppose  that  public  attention  was  for  the  time 
monopolized  by  the  struggles  of  the  Reformation, 
and,  even  had  the  incentives  to  western  voyages 
been  much  stronger  than  they  seem  to  have  been, 
there  was  serious  risk  of  their  leading  to  diplo- 
matic complications  with  Spain.  The  government 
of  Charles  V.  kept  a  lynx-eyed  watch  upon  all 
trespassers  to  the  west  of  Borgia's  meridian.^ 
It  was  not  imtil  the  Protestant  England  of  Eliza- 
beth had  come  to  a  life  and  death  grapple  with 

^  See  Harrisse,  op.  cit.  p.  294. 

*  Haklayt,  Principall  NavigationSj  vol.  iii.  p.  129;  Purchas  hU 
Pilgrimea^  vol.  iii.  p.  809 ;  Fox-Boume,  English  Merchants^  vol.  L 
p.  159;  De  Costa,  Northmen  in  Maine j  pp.  43rS2. 

'  Winsor,  Narr,  and  Crit,  Hist.f  voL  iiL  pp.  199-206. 

*  See  HarriBse,  op.  cit.  p.  146. 


18  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Spain,  and  not  until  the  discovery  of  America  had 
advanced  much  nearer  to  completion,  so  that  its 
value  began  to  be  more  correctly  understood,  that 
|X)litical  and  commercial  motives  combined  in  de- 
termining England  to  attack  Spain  through  Amer- 
ica, and  to  deprive  her  of  supremacy  in  the  colo- 
nial tuid  maritime  world.  Then  the  voyages  of 
the  Cabots  assmued  an  importance  entirely  new, 
and  could  l>e  quoted  as  the  basis  of  a  prior  claim, 
on  the  part  of  the  English  crown,  to  lands  which 
it  had  discovered.  In  view  of  all  that  has  since 
hapiH'ncd,  as  we  see  these  navigators  coming  upon 
die  scene  for  a  moment  in  the  very  lifetime  of  Co- 
himbu8«  and  setting  up  the  royal  standard  of  Eng- 
land U)Hni  a  bit  of  the  American  coast,  we  may 
wvU  Ivo  n^niinded  of  the  phrase  of  prophetic  song 
Uuit  horalds  a  distant  but  inevitable  doom. 

La  Cosa^s  map  shows  that  definite  information 
of  the  Cabot  v%>yag^  and  their  results  had  been 
rintiymjM  ^*^^  ^^  $|^in  before  the  sommer  of 
J^^^J^^,^  1500.  Similar  information  was  pos- 
^jSoTT^r  ^wsa^^l  in  P^vtngal.  and:  the  enteqnis- 
*^^  iy^r    KiiuT    EmaniKJ    (who    had    sue- 

oe^<Wd  J<^n  IL  in  I4d5>  was  k)d  to  txr  what  coold 
W  a<vowiplisibod  bv  a  xwa^^  to  the  northwest. 
Srtmo  <4  the  land  ri^tsrd  bv  t3»e  OaKi^  seemed  to 
li<>  xvn-  ticaf  IVvr^"«  n)^^4di«n:  jwi^iaps  on  cloa^ 
iii5«jvvtirtn  it  »ii|2fht  W  f cmnd  to  Ke  to  tiie  «fest  of  it. 
TWre  oa«i  be  linie  ^kvabt  that  this  was  <iine  of  the 
Wa^i^  VMtiv^  miikdi  ]nv«n|«k^  the  vm:aj!:ies  of 
tdke  Wfltfwiwi  Ow»wwJ.     I»to  the  iionicm hat  vexied 

St  is  not  neoessasT  £or 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  19 

our  purposes  to  enter.  The  brothers  Gaspar  and 
Miguel  Cortereal  were  gentlemen  of  high  consid- 
eration in  Portugal,  Two  or  three  voyages  were 
made  by  Caspar  in  the  course  of  the  years  1500 
and  1501 ;  and  from  the  last  voyage  two  of  his 
ships  returned  to  Lisbon  without  him,  and  he  was 
never  heard  of  again.  On  May  10,  1502,  Miguel 
sailed  with  three  caravels  in  search  of  his  brother ; 
and  again  it  happened  that  two  of  the  ships  re- 
turned in  safety,  but  the  commander  and  his  flag- 
ship never  returned.  The  incidents  of  the  various 
voyages  are  sadly  confused ;  but  it  seems  clear 
that  the  coasts  visited  by  Caspar  Cortereal  were 
mainly  within  the  region  already  explored  by  the 
Cabots,  from  Labrador  perhaps  as  far  south  as  the 
bay  of  Fundy.  He  probably  followed  the  east- 
em  shores  of  Newfoundland,  and  crossed  over  to 
Greenland.  He  brought  home  wild  men  (homines 
sUvestres)  and  white  bears,  as  well  as  a  gilded 
sword-hilt  and  some  silver  trinkets  of  Venetian 
manufacture  which  the  natives  had  evidently  ob- 
tained from  the  Cabots.^  The  coast  which  he  had 
followed,  or  part  of  it,  was  declared  to  lie  to  the 
east  of  the  papal  meridian  and  to  belong  to  Portu- 
gal. A  despatch  dated  October  17,  1501,  recount- 
ing these  facts,  was  sent  to  Ercole  d'  Este,  Duke 
of  Ferrara,  by  his  agent  or  envoy,  Alberto  Cantino, 

^  These  voyages  are  ably  discussed  by  M.  Harrisse,  Les  Cortex 
Real  et  lews  voyages  au  Nouveau  Monde y  Paris,  1883 ;  see  also  the 
accounts  in  PeschePs  Geschichte  des  Zeitalters  der  Entdeckungen^  2* 
aofl.,  Stuttgart,  1877;  Kunstmann,  Die  Entdeckung  Amerikas, 
Miinich,  1850 ;  Lafitau,  Histoire  des  dlcouvertea  des  Portugais  dans 
U  Nouveau  Monde,  PariSf  1733,  2  toIs.  4to  ;  Winaor,  Narr,  and 
Crit.  Hist.,  voL  It.  pp.  1-4, 1^16. 


20  THE  DiaCOVKRT  Q¥  AMERICA. 

Ilien  resident  in  Lisbon.  An  elaboratB  map,  ea^ 
ceming  which  we  shall  presently  have  more  to  say, 
was  made  for  Cantino  at  a  cost  of  twelve  gohior 
Tbeonitteo  ducats,  and  carried  by  him  to  Italy  in 
^^'^  the  aatomn  of  1502.     This  map  is  now 

preserved  in  the  Biblioteca  Estense  at  Modraia.^ 
On  it  we  see  the  papal  meridian  catting  through 
Brazil,  and  we  see  the  outer  coast  of  Newfomut 
land  Liid  down  to  the  east  of  the  mffwiiism  and 


^  TIm  mda  ak«teh  here  pramitBd  giTos  no  idea  wiuitorer  of  tlw 
falnean  of  detail  and  the  gozgeoua  beauty  of  diis  remarkable  map. 
A  fall-siied  fiBceimile  of  the  weetam  partioii,  3  fieet  5J  ioehea  in 
width  \gj  3  feet  2^  inehes  in  height,  in  the  ooriginal  eoloun.  ia  to 
be  foand  ia  the  portfolio  aeeompanying  M.  TTniiiiia  work  on  tha 
Cortereala.    The  contin«iti  are  given  in  a  aoft  green,  the  ^^««hp 
in  rich  bines  and  reda.    Flags  in  dieir*proper  ooloois  mariL  the 
diffefent  sovereignties,  from  that  of  the  Turks  at  Coastantino^a 
to  that  of  the  Spsaiaids  near  Maxacaibo.    The  two  tropics  are  iB 
red,  the  equator  in  gold,  and  the  papal  line  of  demarcation  in  a 
brilliant  bine.     Africa  is  characterized  by  a  hilly  landscape  ia 
pale  bines  and  greens,  a  castellated  Portngnese  fuiUess,  nattvs 
hnts,  iiegmes  in  jet  blaek,  birds  of  vanons  hue,  and  a  hnge  Hoik 
headed  fignte  in  brown  and  gold.     A  cireolar  alniciure  called 
*'  Tower  of  Babilooja^  appean  in  Egypt,  while  Ruana  is  marked 
by  a  pile  of  ehaiaeteristie  svehitBctnre  snggestiye  of  Moscow. 
Newfoandland,  placed  to  the  esst  of  the  papal  meridian  sad 
labelled  "  Terra  del  Bey  de  Portngall,''  is  decked  ont  with  trecaia 
green  and  gold.    The  Brazilian  coast  —  the  aoathem  part  of  which 
is  given  from  heanay,  chiefly  from  the  third  voyage  of  Vespa^ 
eios,  who  retwrned  to  Lisbon  September  7, 1502  (as  is  proved^ 
among  other  things,  by  its  giving  the  name  of  the  Bay  of  AH 
Saints,  discovered  in  that  voyage)  — is  adorned  with  tall  trees  ia 
green,  gold,  and  brown,  among  which  are  intempersed  smaller 
trees  and  shmbs  in  varions  ^lades  of  bine,  and  three  enormoos 
paroquets  intensely  niL,  with  white  beaks  sad  claws,  and  divess 
wing  and  tail  feathere  in  bine,  bnif,  and  gold.     The  ocean  is  of 
an  ivory  tint,  and  the  letterinfp,  sometimes  gothie  sometimes  om^ 
sive,  is  in  black  and  recL     Every  detail  speaks  for  the  ii 
and  loving  intenet  f^  ia  this  kiad  of  work. 


MUNDUS  NOVUS. 


21 


labelled  "  Land  of  the  King  of  Portugal."  The 
southern  extremity  of  Greenland  is  also  depicted 
with  remarkable  clearness.  The  islands  after- 
wards known  as  West  Indies,  heretofore  known 


OCEANUSOGCfOENmiS 


HASANTILHAS 


\ 


i#T 


TFRRA 
^  DEL  RCY 

pmmnii 


'•»'•. 


Sketch  of  part  of  the  Cantino  map,  1502. 

simply  as  Indies,  here  appear  for  the  first  time  as 
Antilles  (^has  Antilhas). 

Portuguese  sailors  were  prompt  in  availing  them- 
selves of  the  treasures  of  the  Newfoundland  fish- 
eries. By  1525  a  short-lived  Portuguese  colony 
had  been  established  on  Cape  Breton  island.^    But, 

^  Sonza,  Traiado  das  lUias  NovaSj  p.  5 ;  HarriBse,  Jean  et  8^ 
haatUn  Cabot,  p.  70. 


22  THE  DISCOVEBT  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

as  the  name  of  that  island  reminds  us,  the  Porta- 
gaese  had  sturdy  rivals  in  this  work.  As  early  as 
1504  that  spot  was  visited  by  Breton,  Norman, 
and  Basque  sailors,  and  from  that  time  forth  the 
fisheries  were  frequented  by  all  these  people,  as 
well  as  the  Portuguese.^  The  name  "  Baecalaos," 
The  New.  applied  on  most  of  the  early  maps  to 
£hertS*l  Newfoundland  or  the  adjacent  regions, 
^•****'***^  is  the  Basque  name  for  codfish.^  The 
English  came  later  upon  the  scene.  Had  Eng- 
land been  more  prompt  in  following  up  the  Cabot 
voyages,  there  would  probably  have  been  a  serious 
dispute,  for  Portugal  did  not  cease  to  claim  the 

^  When  John  Rut  reached  the  bay  of  St.  John,  Angnst  3, 1527, 
he  found  two  Portuguese,  one  Breton,  and  eleven  Norman  ships 
fishing  there.  Purchas  his  PilgrimeSj  toI.  ▼.  p.  822;  Harrisse, 
Jean  et  Sibcutien  Cahot,  p.  75 ;  Brown,  History  of  the  Island  of 
Cape  Breton^  p.  13. 

'  See  the  book  of  the  Jesuit  father,  Georges  Foumier,  Hydro- 
graphie^  2*  ^d.,  Paris,  1667.  Peter  Martyr  is  mistaken  in  saying 
that  the  land  was  named  Baecalaos  (by  Sebastian  Cabot)  because 
it  was  the  native  name  for  codfish.  Gk>mara's  account,  as  rendered 
by  Richard  Eden,  in  1555,  is  entertaining :  — **  The  newe  lande  of 
Baecalaos  is  a  coulde  region,  whose  inhabytantes  are  Idolatours 
and  praye  to  the  sonne  and  moone  and  d3ruer8  Idoles.  They  are 
whyte  people  and  very  rustical,  for  they  eate  flesshe  and  f ysshe 
and  all  other  things  rawe.  Snmtymes  also  they  eate  man*s  flesshe 
priuily,  so  that  their  Cacique  have  no  knowledge  thereof  [!  J.  The 
apparell,  both  of  men  and  women,  b  made  of  beares  skynnes,  al- 
though they  have  sables  and  martemes,  not  greatly  estemed  be- 
cause they  are  lyttle.  Sum  of  them  go  naked  in  sommer  and 
weare  apparell  only  in  wynter.  The  Brytons  and  Frenche  men 
are  accustomed  to  take  f  ysshe  in  the  coastes  of  these  lands,  where 
Is  found  great  plenty  of  Tunnies  which  the  inhabytauntes  caul 
Baecalaos,  whereof  the  land  was  so  named.  ...  In  all  this  newe 
lande  is  neyther  citie  nor  castell,  but  they  lyue  in  companies  lyke 
heardes  of  beastes."  The  First  Three  English  Books  on  America^ 
Ulf  mlngham,  1885,  p.  846. 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  28 

sovereignty  of  Newfoundland,  on  the  ground  that 
it  lay  to  the  east  of  the  papal  meridian,  and  in 
those  days  it  ^as  not  easy  to  disprove  this  assump- 
tion.^ But  the  question  was  swallowed  up  in  the 
events  of  1580,  when  Spain  conquered  and  an- 
nexed Portugal ;  and  it  was  not  long  after  that 
time  that  the  inability  of  the  Spaniards  to  main- 
tain their  mastery  of  the  sea  left  the  wealth  of 
these  fisheries  to  be  shared  between  France  and 
England. 

While  these  northern  voyages  are  highly  inter- 
esting in  their  relations  to  the  subsequent  work  of 
English  colonization,  nevertheless  in  the  history  of 
the  discovery  of  the  New  World  they  occupy  but 
a  subordinate  place.     John  Cabot  was  probably 
the  first  commander  since  the  days  of  the  Vikings 
to  set  foot  upon  the  continent  of  North  AsUniuinthe 
America,  yet  it  would  be  ridiculous  to  Jjjjjyf  t^ 
compare  his  achievement  with  that  of  JoySS««were 
Columbus.     The  latter,  in  spite  of  its  JJitlStSJm 
admixture  of  error  with  truth,  was  a  "^•■o"^***™- 
scientific  triumph  of  the  first  order.     It  was  Co- 
lumbus who  showed  the  way  across  the  Sea  of 
Darkness,  and  when  once  he  had  stood  that  egg 
upon  its  end  it  was  easy  enough  for  others  to  fol- 
low.^    On  the  other  hand,  in  so  far  as  the  dis- 

^  The  reader  vill  obserre  the  name  of  Cortereal  npon  New- 
foundland as  an  island  on  Sebastian  Miinster's  map  of  1540 ;  as 
an  archipelag^o  on  Mercator's  map  of  1541 ;  and  as  part  of  the 
mainland  on  Lok's  map  of  1582.    See  below,  pp.  499, 153, 525. 

'  The  anecdote  of  Colambos  and  the  egg  is  told  by  Benzoni, 
Historia  del  Mondo  NuovOy  Venice,  1572,  p.  12.  It  belongs  to  the 
•lass  of  migratory  myths,  having  already  been  told  of  Brunei- 


24  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA, 

eovery  of  America  was  completed  when  it  was 
made  known  to  Eoiopeans  that  what  Columbus 
liad  found  was  not  Asia,  but  a  New  World,  the 
northern  voyages  had  absolutely  nothing  to  do 
with  its  completion.  The  causal  sequence  of  events, 
from  Columbus  to  Magellan,  which  brought  out 
the  fact  that  a  New  World  had  been  discovered, 
would  not  have  been  altered  if  the  voyages  of  the 
Cabots  had  never  been  made.  It  was  only  by 
voyages  to  the  south  that  the  eyes  of  Europeans 
could  be  opened  to  the  real  significance  of  what 
was  going  on.  Our  attention  is  thus  directed  to 
the  famous  navigator  who,  without  himself  under- 
standing the  true  state  of  the  case,  nevertheless 
went  far  toward  revealing  it.  The  later  voyages 
of  Vespucius  began  to  give  a  new  meaning  to  the 
work  of  Columbus,  and  prepared  the  way  for  the 
grand  consummation  t)y  Magellan. 

Amerigo  Vespucci  ^  was  bom  at  Florence  on 

leaehi,  the  great  architect  who  bnilt  the  dome  of  the  cathedral  at 
Florence  abont  1420.  As  Voltaire  says,  in  this  connection,  "  La 
plupart  des  bons  mots  sont  des  redites.'*  Etsai  sur  Its  JfoBurs, 
tom.  iii.  p.  851. 

^  Amerigo,  Amerrigo,  Merigo,  Morigo,  Almerioo,  Alberico, 
Alberigo;  Vespucci,  Vespncy,  Vespuchy,  Vespuche,  Vespntio, 
Vespnlsius,  Espnchi,  Despnchi;  latinized  Americas  Vespncina. 
Amerigo  is  an  italianized  form  of  the  old  Qerman  Amalrich  (not 
Emmerich),  which  in  mediffival  French  became  Amaury,  It  means 
''the  steadfast^'  ('*  celui  qui  endure  des  labours").  See  Hum- 
boldt, Eramen  critique^  tom.  iv.  pp.  52-57.  This  derivation  would 
naturally  make  the  accent  fall  upon  the  penult,  Amerigo,  Ameri- 
cut;  and  thus  light  seems  to  be  thrown  upon  the  scanning  of 
George  Herbert^s  verses,  written  in  1631,  during  the  Puritan 

«Eodas: — 

"  Religion  ttanda  on  tip-toe  in  our  land, 
Resdie  to  pstie  to  the  Ameriosn  strftud.*' 

JAe  CAvreA  Jrtfiten/,  235. 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  26 

the  18th  of  March,  1452  (N.  S.).  He  was  the 
third  son  of  Anastasio  Vespucci  and  Lis- 
abetta  Mini.  The  family  was  old  and  AmericiuTM. 
respectable,  and  had  been  wealthy.  An- 
astasio was  a  notary  public  His  brother  Giorgio 
Antonio  was  a  Dominican  monk,  an  accomplished 
Hellenist  in  those  days  of  the  Renaissance,  and  a 
friend  of  the  martyr  Savonarola.  One  of  Ameri- 
go's brothers,  Antonio,  studied  at  the  imiversity 
of  Pisa.  The  second,  Jerome,  engaged  in  some 
business  which  took  him  to  Palestine,  where  he 
suffered  many  hardships.  Amerigo  was  educated 
by  his  uncle,  the  Dominican,  who  seems  to  have 
had  several  youth  under  his  care ;  among  these 
fellow-students  was  the  famous  Piero  Soderini, 
afterward  gonfaloniere  of  Florence  from  1502  to 
1512.^  Amerigo  acquired  some  knowledge  of 
Latin  and  was  sufficiently  affected  by  the  spirit  of 
the  age  to  be  fond  of  making  classical  quotations, 
but  his  scholarship  did  not  go  very  far.  At  some 
time,  however,  if  not  in  his  early  years,  he  acquired 
an  excellent  practical  knowledge  of  astronomy,  and 
in  the  art  of  calculating  latitudes  and  longitudes  he 
became  an  expert  unsurpassed  by  any  of  his  con- 
temporaries.^  After  his  school  days  were  over,  he 
was  taken  into  the  great  commercial  house  of  the 

^  See  Ghuociardini,  Storta  Fiorentiva,  cap.  zzv. ;  Trollope*8  His- 
tory  of  the  CommonwecUth  of  Florence^  vol.  iv.  pp.  294,  337. 

^  See  the  testimony  of  Sebastian  Cabot  and  Peter  Martyr,  and 
Humboldt's  remarks  in  connection  therewith,  in  Examen  criHqw^ 
torn.  iy.  pp.  144, 183, 191 ;  torn.  v.  p.  36.  Considering  his  strong  in- 
clination for  astronomical  studies,  one  is  inclined  to  wonder  whether 
Vespucins  may  not  have  profited  by  the  instruction  or  conversa- 
tion of  his  f ellow-townsmaa  Toaoanelli  How  oould  he  fail  to 
have  dont  «o  f  — 


26  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Medici,  and  seems  to  have  led  an  uneventful  Ufa 
at  Florence  until  he  was  nearly  forty  years  of 
age.^  He  devoted  his  leisure  hours  to  the  study  of 
geography,  and  was  an  eager  collector  of  maps, 
charts,  and  globes.  On  one  occasion  he  paid  130 
golden  ducats  for  a  map  made  in  1439  by  Grabriel 
de  Yalsequa.^  He  also  became  an  expert  map- 
maker  himself,^  and  along  with  such  tastes  one 

^  Wlmt  little  18  koown  o£  tlie  early  life  of  Vespneiiui  ii  snninied 
up  in  Bandini,  Vita  e  Uttere  di  Amerigo  Veqmccij  Florence,  1745. 
The  only  intelligent  modem  treatise  on  the  life  and  Toyages  of  thia 
aaTigator  is  Yamhagen^s  oolleetion  of  monographs  —  Awterigo 
Vespucd :  iron  cttmcthre,  $es  Merits  {tnime  les  moint  authentiques)^  sa 
vU  €i  MS  navigations^  Lima,  18^;  Le  premier  voyage  de  Amerigo 
Veqmcci  d(finiiivement  expliquS  dans  ses  ditaUs,  Vienna^  1809; 
NouveUes  rtcherches  sur  les  demiers  vogages  du  navigaiewr  florentiny 
«f  le  rests  des  documents  et  iclaircissements  sur  /ut,  Vienna,  1869 ; 
Posiface  aux  trois  liuraisons  sur  Amerigo  Vespucci,  Vienna,  1870 : 
Ainda  Amerigo  Vespucci :  novos  estudos  e  ackegas  especialmeBie  em 
favor  da  interpretacSo  dada  d  sua  la  viagem  em  1497-96,  Vienna, 
1874.  These  are  nsnally  bound  together  in  one  small  folio  vol- 
nme.  Sometimes  the  French  monographs  are  fonnd  together 
withoot  the  Portngnese  monograph.  Vamhagen^s  book  has  made 
•reiything  else  antiquated,  and  no  one  who  has  not  mastered  it  in 
all  its  details  is  entitled  to  speak  about  Vespncius.  In  the  Eng- 
lish langnage  there  is  no  good  book  on  the  subject.  The  defence 
Vy  Lester  and  Foster  {Life  and  Vogages  of  Americus  Ve^mciuSj 
New  York,  1846)  had  some  good  points  for  its  time,  but  is  now 
mtterly  antiquated  and  worse  than  useless.  The  chapter  by  the 
late  Sydney  Howard  Gay,  in  Winsofr^s  Narrative  and  Critical  His- 
totj,  ToL  ii.  chap,  ii.,  is  quite  unworthy  of  its  place  in  that  excel- 
lent work ;  but  its  defects  are  to  some  extent  atoned  for  by  the 
editar*s  critical  notes. 

*  In  1848  this  map  "^  was  stin  in  the  library  ol  Count  de  Mob- 
teaegro  at  Pkbna,  in  the  island  of  Majorca.'*  Harriase,  BiUio* 
Asea  Afsericana  Vebutistimta^  Additions,  p.  xxiii.  It  is  the  only 
vdie  of  Yespoeina  to  which  we  can  point  as  existing  in  the  present 


*  ^  I  repayred  to  the  byshoppe  ol  Barges  [Fooseca]  beiqge  the 
ehiafe  refuge  of  this  nanigatioa.    As  wee  were  tharfoce  secretly 


MUNDU8  NOVUS.  27 

can  easily  see  how  there  was  a  latent  love  of  ad- 
venture which  it  only  required  circumstances  to 
bring  out.  He  seems  in  these  earlier  years,  as 
throughout  his  life,  to  have  won  and  retained  the 
respect  of  all  who  knew  him,  as  a  man  of  integrity 
and  modesty,  quiet,  but  somewhat  playful  in  man- 
ner, mild  and  placable  in  temper,  and  endowed 
with  keen  intelligence.  He  seems  to  have  been  of 
middle  height,  and  somewhat  brawny,  with  aquiline 
features  and  olive  complexion,  black  eyes  and  hair, 
and  a  mouth  at  once  firm  and  refined. 

The  Medici  had  important  business  interests  in 
Spain,  and  at  some  time  between  the  veBpadiu 
midsummer  of  1489  and  the  end  of  «~**^^«*^ 
1491  they  sent  Yespucius  to  Barcelona  as  their 
confidential  agent.  He  took  with  him  several 
young  Florentines  who  had  been  placed  under  his 
care,  and  among  them  his  own  nephew,  Giovanni 
(afterwards  spanished  into  Juan)  Vespucci,  a  very 
capable  youth  who  accompanied  him  in  some  if  not 
all  his  voyages,  and  lived  to  be  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  accomplished  navigators  and  cosmogra- 
phers  of  the  age.^    Early  in  1493  Americus  seems 

togytlier  in  one  chamber,  we  had  many  instmmentes  perteynynge 
to  theae  affayrea,  aa  globea  and  many  of  thoae  mappes  which  are 
commonly  canled  the  shipmana  cardes,  or  cardes  of  the  sea.  Of 
the  which,  one  waa  drawen  by  the  Portugales,  wherennto  Ameri- 
ens  Yeqpntins  is  sayde  to  have  pnt  his  hande,  beinge  a  man  moste 
experte  in  this  f  acnltie  and  a  Florentyne  borne ;  who  also  vnder 
the  Btipende  of  the  Portngales  hadde  sayled  towarde  the  south 
pole.^'  Peter  Martyr,  Decades  of  the  Newe  Worlde,  £den*s  trans- 
lation, 1555,  dec.  ii.  lib.  z. 

^  "^The  yonnge  Vespntius  is  one  to  whom  Americus  Vespntias 
his  Tnde  left  the  exact  knowledge  of  the  mariners  facultie,  as  it 
were  by  inheritance  after  his  death,  for  he  was  a  yery  expert  maia- 


28  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

to  have  formed  some  sort  of  connectioii  with  the 
Florentine  conmiercial  house  of  Juanoto  Berardi, 
at  Seville.^  This  Berardi,  who  had  been  domiciled 
in  Spain  for  more  than  nine  years  and  was  a  friend 
of  Columbus,  was  employed  by  the  crown  in  fit- 
ting out  ships  for  the  Atlantic  voyages.  On  the 
9th  of  April,  1495,  we  find  him  signing  a  contract 
engaging  to  furnish  twelve  vessels  with  an  aggre- 
gate burthen  of  900  tons,  and  to  have  four  of  them 
ready  that  same  month,  four  more  in  June,  and 
the  rest  in  September.^  We  shall  presently  find 
this  contract  quite  interesting  and  its  date  elo- 
quent. In  December  of  that  same  year  Berardi 
died,  and  we  find  Yespucius  taking  his  place  and 
fulfilling  what  remained  to  be  fulfilled  of  the  con- 
tract and  sundry  obligations  growing  out  of  it. 
From  the  above  facts  the  statement,  often  made, 
that  Yespucius  took  part  in  fitting  out  the  second 
voyage  of  Columbus  is  quite  probable.     He  can 

ter  in  the  knowledge  of  his  carde,  his  oompasse,  and  the  elenation 
of  the  pole  starre  with  all  that  perteineth  therto.  .  .  .  Vesputius 
is  my  yerye  familyar  frende,  and  a  wyttie  yoong^  man  in  whose 
ooompany  I  take  great  pleasnre,  and  therefore  yse  hym  often- 
tymes  for  my  geste."   Id.^  dec.  iii.  lib.  y. 

^  **  Vostra  Mag.  sapra,  come  el  motiuo  della  yennta  mia  in 
qnesto  regno  di  Spagna  f  u  p<  tractare  mercatantie :  <&  come  se- 
goiisi  in  q^sto  propqfsito  circa  di  quattro  anni :  nequalli  uiddi  A 
oonnobbi  edisuariati  mouime'ti  della  f ortuna ;  .  .  .  deliberai  /as- 
ciarmi  della  mercantia  &  porre  elmio  fine  in  coea  pin  laadabUe  A 
ferma :  che  fa  che  midisposi  dandare  a  nedere  parte  del  mondo, 
A  le  sue  marauiglie.**  Lettera  di  Amerigo  Vespucci  deUe  isole 
nuouamente  trouate  in  quattro  tuoi  viaggi^  —  written  to  Soderini 
from  Lisbon,  September  4, 1504 ;  primitiye  text  reprinted  in  Vam- 
kagen,  Lima,  18(>5,  p.  35. 

^  See  the  document  in  Vamhagen,  p.  93 ;  Nayaiiete,  torn,  ii 
pp.  159-102. 


MUNDU8  NOVUS.  29 

liardly  have  failed  to  become  acquainted  with 
Columbus  in  the  summer  of  1493,  if  he  had  not 
known  him  before.  The  relations  between  the 
two  seem  always  to  have  been  most  cordial ;  ^  and 
after  the  Admiral's  death  his  sons  seem  to  have 
continued  to  hold  the  Florentine  navigator  in  high 
esteem. 

Our  information  concerning  Americus  Vespu- 
cius,  from  the  early  part  of  the  year 
1496  until  after  his  return  from  the  Medicjand 

BoderinL 

Portuguese  to  the  Spanish  service  in 
the  latter  part  of  1504,  rests  primarily  upon  his 
two  famous  letters ;  the  one  addressed  to  his  old 
patron  Lorenzo  di  Pier  Francesco  de'  Medici  (a 
cousin  of  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent)  and  written  in 
March  or  April,  1503,  giving  an  account  of  his 
third  voyage :  ^  the  other  addressed  to  his  old 
school-fellow  Piero  Soderini  and  dated  from  Lis- 
bon, September  4,  1604,  giving  a  brief  account  of 
four  voyages  which  he  had  made  under  vai*ious 
conmianders  in  the  capacity  of  astronomer  or  pilot.^ 

1  See  the  Admiral's  letter  to  his  son  Diego,  dated  Febmary  5, 
1505,  in  Nayarrete,  torn.  i.  p.  351. 

^  The  earliest  Latin  and  Italian  texts  are  given  in  Vamhagen, 
pp.  9-26. 

'  The  primitive  Italian  text  and  the  famous  Latin  version  pres- 
ently to  be  noticed  are  given  in  Vnmhagen,  pp.  33-64. 

Vamhagen  prints  three  other  letters,  attribu  ted  to  Vespneins, 
which  have  been  often  quoted.  They  are  all  ad  Ireased  to  Lorenzo 
di  Pier  Francesco  de*  Medici :  —  1.  relating  to  the  second  voyage, 
and  dated  July  18,  1500,  first  published  in  1745  by  Bandini ;  it  is 
unquestionably  a  forgery,  not  older  than  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  has  done  much  to  bemuddle  the  story  of  Vespuoius ;  2.  dated 
from  Cape  Verde,  June  4,  1501,  while  starting  on  the  third  voy- 
age, first  published  in  1827  by  BaldeUi ;  the  document  itself  is 
not  original,  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  it  may  perhaps  be  mad« 


80  THE  DISCOVEBT  OF  AMERICA. 

These  letterss  for  tcmsoos  present^  to  be  set  f ordi, 
became  speedily  popular,  and  many  editions  were 
published,  more  especially  in  France,  Germany, 
and  Italy.  It  is  extremely  improbable  that  proof- 
sheets  of  anv  of  these  editions  eoold  ever  haTe 
been  read  by  the  author,  and  it  is  perfectfy  clear 
that  if  his  eye  ever  rested  at  any  time  upon  the 
few  strange  errors  of  editing  and  proof-reading 
which  were  destined  to  embroil  and  perplex  his 
stoiy  in  the  minds  of  future  generations,  he  could 
n<^  possibly  have  f orese^i  or  dimly  surmised  what 
wretched  complications  were  going  to  flow  from 
the  slight  admixtures  of  error  in  the  {Minted  text. 
For  Americus  died,  as  Columbus  had  died,  without 
erer  having  suspected  the  real  significance  of  the 
discoveries  in  which  he  had  been  concerned. 

The  letter  to  Soderini  gives  an  account  of  four 
voyages  in  which  the  writer  took  part, 
'*e^  the  first  two  in  the  service  of  Spain,  the 
-_  other  two  in  the  service  of  PortugaL 
The  first  expedition  saikd  from  Cadis 
Mav  10. 1497.  and  returned  October  lo.  1498.  after 
having  explored  a  coast  so  long  as  to  seem  un- 
qnestionaUy  that  of  a  continent.  This  voyage^  as 
we  shall  see^  was  ctmcemed  with  parts  of  America 


;  S.  i«laiii«  to  tW  tkird 
dMXtd  Idie.  fint  pvlifidM^  B  IT^^  by  ButoloBL    I 
regard  k  a*  g^emmimt^  iMt  a*  it  *M«  BM^omp  v»  mlwt  m 
ike  gtmncmt  WoeB..  ike  pautt  is  «l  m»gnai  inpar- 


\fj  A^mmti  Zcai.  ia  Im  7W  hfOfrr  ii  C-mvmht  i  Vrafmcci, 
1^1 ;  k«  it  kM  M  ratonm  to  tke  qi 


It- 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  81 

not  yisited  again  until  1513  and  1517.  It  dis- 
covered nothing  that  was  calculated  to  invest  it 
with  much  importance  in  Spain,  though  it  by  no 
means  passed  without  notice  there,  as  has  often 
been  wrongly  asserted.  Outside  of  Spain  it  came 
to  attract  more  attention,  but  in  an  unfortunate 
way,  for  a  slight  but  very  serious  error  in  proof- 
reading or  editing  in  the  most  important  of  the 
Latin  versions  caused  it  after  a  while  to  be  practi- 
cally identified  with  the  second  voyage,  made  two 
years  later.  This  confusion  eventually  led  to  most 
outrageous  imputations  upon  the  good  name  of 
Americus,  which  it  has  been  left  for  the  present 
century  to  remove. 

The  second  voyage  of  Yespucius  was  that  in 
which  he  accompanied  Alonso  de  Ojeda  gecond 
and  Juan  de  La  Cosa,  from  May  20,  ^y«8^ 
1499,  to  June,  1500.  They  explored  the  northern 
coast  of  South  America  from  some  point  on  what 
we  would  now  call  the  north  coast  of  Brazil,  as 
far  as  the  Pearl  Coast  visited  by  Columbus  in  the 
preceding  year ;  and  they  went  beyond,  as  far  as 
the  gulf  of  Maracalbo.  Here  the  squadron  seems 
to  have  become  divided,  Ojeda  going  over  to  His- 
paniola  in  September,  while  Yespucius  remained 
cruising  tm  February.  ^ 

Li  the  autumn  of  1500,  or  early  in  1501,  at  the 
invitation  of  King  Emanuel  of  Portugal,  Yespji- 
cius   transferred    his   services    to  that  _.  , 

Third  TOja|^ 

country.     His   third  voyage  was   from 
Lisbon,  May  14, 1501,  to  September  7,  1502.     He 
pursued  the  Brazilian  coast  as  far  as  latitude  34° 
8.,  and  ran  thence  S«  E.,  as  far  as  the  island  of 


32  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

South  Georgia.  I  shall  presently  show  why  it 
was  that  such  a  voyage,  into  this  wholly  new  part 
of  the  world,  excited  public  curiosity  even  more 
keenly  than  those  of  Columbus  and  Gama,  and 
how  curiously  but  naturally  it  led  to  the  placing 
of  the  name  ^^  America  "  upon  the  map. 

In  a  fourth  voyage,  from  June   10,  1503,  to 
Fourth  June  18,  1604,  Vespucius,  with  Gon- 

^*''^"*^  zalo  Coelho,  undertook  to  follow  the 

Brazilian  coast  to  its  end  or  until  they  should 
find  some  passage  into  the  Indian  ocean.  This 
expedition  met  with  disasters,  and  after  reaching 
latitude  23^  S.,  Yespucius  returned  to  Lisbon  with- 
out accomplishing  anything. 

In  the  autumn  of  1504  Americus  returned  to  the 
service  of  Spain  with  the  rank  of  cap- 
tain and  a  salary  of  30,000  maravedis. 
He  went  on  two  more  voyages,  in  company  with 
La  Cosa,  in  1505  and  1507,  for  the  exploration  of 
the  gulf  of  Urabd  and  the  coasts  adjoining.  It 
seems  to  have  been  early  in  1505  that  he  mar- 
ried a  Spanish  lady,  Maria  Cerezo,  and  became  le- 
gally domiciled  at  Seville.  On  the  22d  of  March, 
1508,  because  of  the  growing  interest  in  voyages 
to  the  Indies  and  the  increasing  number  of  squad- 
rons equipped  for  such  a  purpose,  the  government 
created  the  highly  responsible  office  of  Pilot  Major 
of  Spain.  It  was  to  be  the  duty  of  this  officer  to 
institute  and  superintend  examinations  for  all  can- 
didates for  the  position  of  pilot,  to  judge  of  their 
proficiency  in  practical  astronomy  and  navigation, 
and  to  issue  certificates  of  competence  to  the  suc- 
cessful candidates.     Such  work  involved  the  es- 


a 


:■  \ 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  88 

tablishment  and  supervision  of  regular  methods  of 
training  in  nautical  science.  The  pilot  ve«racia«»p- 
major  was  abo  general  inspector  of  ^^^Z****** 
maps,  globes,  and  sailing  charts,  and  he  ^^^^' 
was  expected  to  provide  for  the  compilation  of  a 
"  Carta  Padron  Keal,"  or  authoritative  government 
map,  which  was  to  be  revised  and  amended  with 
reference  to  new  information  brought  home  by  pi- 
lots from  the  Indies  year  after  year.^  On  the  6th 
of  August,  1508,  this  important  office  was  conferred 
upon  Vespucius,  with  a  salary  of  75,000  maravedis. 
It  was  but  a  short  time  that  Americus  lived  to  dis- 
charsre  the  duties  of  pilot  major.     After 

°  *  ^         _  Hit  death. 

his   death,  which    occurred  at  Seville, 
February  22,  1512,  he  was  succeeded  in  that  office 
by  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis,  who  in  turn  was  succeeded 
by  Sebastian  Cabot. 

In  view  of  the  Egyptian  darkness  that  has  here- 
tofore enveloped,  and  in  the  popular  mind  still 
surrounds,  the  subject  of  Americus  Vespucius  and 
his  voyages,  it  has  seemed  advisable  to  complete 
the  mere  outline  of  the  events  of  his  life  before 
entering  into  discussion,  in  the  hope  of  showing 
where  the  truth  is  to  be  found  and  how  the  mis- 
takes have  been  made.  The  reader  will  find  it 
convenient  to  bear  in  mind  this  simple  outline 
sketch  while  I  now  return  to  the  consideration  of 
the  first  and  second  voyages,  and  point  out  how 
the  mystery  that  has  so  long  surrounded  them  has 

^  The  officuil  docnnient  describing  the  duties  and  powers  of  the 
pilot  major  is  given  in  Navarrete,  Colecdon  de  viages,  torn.  iiL 
pp.  21)9-302. 


84  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

been  in  great  part  cleared  away  and  seems  likely 
erelong  to  be  completely  dispelled. 

First  we  must  note  the  character  of  our  primary 
Tiie  letter  ^^^  ^^7  detailed  authority  for  the 
iiSTto  SSSh  events  of  all  four  voyages,  the  letter 
^'^  from  Vespucius  to  Soderini,  dated  Lis- 

bon, September  4,  1504.  Observe  that  this  is  not 
a  formal  or  official  document ;  it  is  not  a  report 
from  a  naval  conmmnder  or  the  conductor  of  a 
scientific  expedition  to  the  head  of  his  department. 
Jt  is  the  business  of  such  official  reports  to  give 
names  and  incidents,  dates  and  distances,  and  all 
relevant  statistical  information,  with  the  greatest 
possible  fulness  and  precision ;  and  if  there  is 
any  noticeable  deficiency  in  this  regard,  we  are 
entitled  to  blame  the  writer.  With  informal  let- 
ters  written  to  one's  friends  the  ca«e  is  very  differ- 
ent.  If  Vespucius,  in  sending  to  his  old  school- 
mate a  cursory  account  of  his  adventures  during 
seven  years  past,  failed  to  mention  sundry  details 
which  it  annoys  and  puzzles  us  not  to  know,  we 
have  no  business  to  find  fault  with  him.  He  had 
a  perfect  right  to  tell  his  story  in  his  own  way. 
He  was  writing  to  a  friend,  not  posing  for  poster- 
ity. Some  querulous  critics  have  blamed  him  for 
not  mentioning  the  names  of  his  conmianders,  as 
if  he  were  intending  to  convey  a  false  impression 
of  having  commanded  in  these  voyages  himself. 
No  such  impression  is  conveyed  to  the  reader,  how- 
fiver,  but  quite  the  contraiy.  On  the  first  voyage 
Americus  describes  himself  as  invited  by  King 
Ferdinand  to  ^^  assist "  in  the  enterprise ;  as  to 
Ills  position  in  the  second  voyage  there  is  no  im< 


MUNDU8  NOVUS.  85 

plication  whatever ;  as  to  the  third  and  fourth  he 
expressly  mentions  that  he  served  under  other 
captains.  His  whole  letter  shows  plainly  enough 
that  on  his  most  important  voyages  he  went  in  the 
capacity  of  "  astronomer."  During  the 
latter  half  of  the  fifteenth  century,  as  earUerroyagM 
voyages  were  extendmg  farther  and  far-  ty  of  Mtroo- 
ther  into  unknown  stretches  of  sea,  it 
became  customary  to  sail  with  such  an  officer  on 
board.  Each  ship  had  its  captain,  its  ^^  master  "  (or 
mate),  and  its  pilot ;  and  for  the  squadron,  besides 
its  captain-general,  and  its  chief  pilot,  expert  in  the 
knack  and  mystery  of  navigation,  there  was  apt  to 
be  (whenever  it  was  possible  to  find  one)  a  person 
well  skilled  in  the  astrolabe,  fertile  in  expedients 
for  determining  longitude,  and  familiar  with  the 
history  of  voyages  and  with  the  maps  and  specu- 
lations of  learned  geographers.  Sometimes  there 
was  a  commander,  like  Columbus,  who  combined 
all  these  accomplishments  in  himself ;  but  in  the 
case  of  many  captains,  even  of  such  superb  navi* 
gators  as  Pinzon  and  La  Cosa,  much  more  in  the 
case  of  land-lubbers  like  Bastidas  and  Ojeda,  it 
was  felt  desirable  to  have  the  assistance  of  a  spe- 
cialist in  cosmography.  Such  was  evidently  the 
position  occupied  by  Yespucius ;  and  occasions 
might  and  did  arise  in  which  it  gave  him  the  con- 
trol of  the  situation,  and  made  the  voyage,  for  all 
historical  purposes,  his  voyage. 

It  is  certainly  much  to  be  regretted  that  in  the 
narrative  of  his  first  expedition  Yespucius  did  not 
happen  to  mention  the  name  of  the  chief  com- 
mander.  If  he  had  realized  what  a  world  of  trouble 


86  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

one  little  name,  such  as  Finzon,  would  have  saved 
us  he  would  doubtless  have  obliged  us  by  doing  so. 
However,  as  already  observed,  he  was  wi'iting  not 
for  us,  but  for  his  friend,  and  he  told  Soderini 
only  what  he  thought  would  interest  him.  In  his 
preface  Americus  somewhat  playfully  apologizes 
for  presmning  to  intrude  upon  that  magistrate's 
arduous  cares  of  state  with  so  long  a  letter.  He 
accordingly  refrains  from  giving  professional  de- 
tails, except  in  stating  latitudes  and  longitudes  and 
distances  nm,  and  even  here  he  leaves  gaps  and 
contents  himself  with  general  statements  that  to 
us  are  sometimes  far  from  satisfactory.  He  also 
gives  very  few  proper  names  of  places,  either  those 
supposed  to  be  current  among  the  natives,  or  those 
applied  by  the  discoverers.  But  of  such  facts 
as  would  be  likely  to  interest  Soderini  he  gives 
plenty.  He  describes,  with  the  keen 
hisdesorip-      zcst  of  a  uaturalist,  the  beasts,  birds, 

tiona.  . 

and  fishes,  the  trees,  herbs,  and  fruits, 
of  the  countries  visited ;  their  climates,  the  stars 
in  their  firmament,  the  personal  appearance  and 
habits  of  the  natives,  their  food  and  weapons,  their 
houses  and  canoes,  their  ceremonies  and  their 
diversity  of  tongues.  Such  details  as  these  proved 
intensely  interesting,  not  only  to  Soderini,  but  to 
many  another  reader,  as  was  shown  by  the  wide 
circulation  obtained  by  the  letter  when  once  it  had 
found  its  way  into  print.  In  an  age  when  Pope 
Leo  X.  sat  up  all  night  reading  the  ^^  Decades  "  of 
Peter  Martyr,  curiosity  and  the  vague  sense  of 
wonder  were  aroused  to  the  highest  degree,  and 
the  &oti  observed  by  Yespueius  —  although  told 


.  J  -I 


MUNDUS  xorus.  87 

in  the  Imrried  and  rambling  style  of  an  ofFhand 
epistle  —  were  well  adapted  to  satisfy  and  further 
to  stimulate  these  cravings.  But  for  the  modem 
investigator,  engaged  upon  the  problem  of  deter- 
mining precise  localities  in  tropical  America,  these 
descriptions  are  too  generaL  They  may  some- 
times be  made  to  apply  to  more  than  one  region, 
and  we  are  again  reminded  of  the  difficulty  which 
one  finds  in  describing  a  walk  or  drive  over  coun- 
try roads  and  making  it  intelligible  to  others  with- 
out the  aid  of  recognized  proper  names.  The 
reader  will  please  note  these  italics,  for  it  is  an 
error  in  proper  names  that  has  been  chiefly  respon- 
sible for  the  complicated  misunderstandings  that 
have  done  such  injustice  to  Vespucius. 

In  tlie  letter  to  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  written 
about  April,  1503,  reference  is  made  to  ^^  Quaiiro 
a  book,  or  group  of  three  pamphlets,  j^SbMk'ol" 
which  Vespucius  had  already  written,  *"»"='"■ 
giving  a  definite  and  detailed  account  of  his  voy- 
ages. He  tells  Lorenzo  that  the  pamphlet  de- 
scribing the  third  voyage  is  now  in  the  hands  of 
the  King  of  Portugal,  and  be  hopes  it  will  soon  be 
returned  to  bim.  He  hopes  at  some  future  day, 
when  more  at  leisure,  to  utilize  these  materials  in 
writing  a  treatise  on  cosmography,  in  order  that 
posterity  may  remember  him  and  that  God's  crea- 
tive work  in  a  region  unknown  to  the  ancients 
may  be  made  known.  If  God  shall  spare  his  life 
until  he  can  settle  down  quietly  at  Florence,  he 
hopes  then,  with  the  aid  and  counsel  of  learned 
men,  to  be  able  to  complete  such  a  book.^  But 
*  "  Tt  B  qoMido  milii  oeiam  dmlutDT  pouim  omiuk  heo  unga- 


88  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

just  now  he  is  about  to  start  on  a  fourth  yoyage, 
the  results  of  which  will  probably  need  to  be 
added  to  the  book.  In  the  letter  to  Soderini,  writ- 
ten seventeen  months  later,  after  the  return  from 
the  fourth  voyage,  Americus  refers  more  than  once 
to  this  book,  under  the  title  "Four  Journeys'* 
(  Quattro  Giomate).  It  is  not  yet  published,  he 
says,  because  he  needs  more  time  to  revise  it ;  in 
this  narrative  everything  will  be  minutely  de- 
scribed.^ It  is  thus  quite  dear  why  Vespucius 
was  not  more  explicit  in  his  letters ;  and  we  can 
also  well  understand  how  his  arduous  duties  as 
pilot  major  of  Spain  would  delay  the  publication 
of  his  book  until  discourteous  death  ^  overtook 
him.  Unfortunately,  while  versions  of  the  hastUy 
written  letters,  intended  only  for  the  moment, 
have  survived,  the  manuscript  of  the  carefully 
written  book,  so  conscientiously  withheld  until  it 
could  be  perfected,  has  perished.^ 

laiia  atqiM  mtrabilia  ooUij^re,  et  Tel  geographie  Tel  oosmognplue 
Ubmm  oooaoribere :  ut  mei  reoordatio  apad  postaros  fivat,  &  <im- 
Bipotantis  dei  oo|^o8oatur  tani  immemnim  artifieiitm  in  parte  pria- 
ois  i^otum«  nobis  autem  oog^tum.  .  .  .  Patriam  <&  qmetem  re- 
petere  oonabor,  rbi  <&  oum  peritis  conferre :  &  ab  amicis  id  opna 
profideadnm  oonfortari  et  adjuTari  Taleam."    Yamhagen,  p.  25. 

^  "  la  queata  (C^nte,  &  in  lore  terra  conobbi  &  uiddi  tanti  de  loio 
eoatumi  &  lor  modi  di  uiaere,  cbe  no'  enro  di  allargbarmi  in  epai : 
perehe  sapra  V.  M.  come  in  oiaeonno  delli  miei  niaggi  ho  notate  le 
eeae  pin  nuurauiglioee :  «ft  tntto  ho  ridoetoin  mn  nolame  in  stilo  £ 
feofrafia:  «ft  le  iatitulo  Lb  QrATTRO  GiOSXATs:  aella  qnala 
opera  aioimtiene  le  ooae  p«  minnto  it  per  anehoia  no*  sene  data 
fttora  €H>pia,  perehe  me  neoeeaario  eonferirla..**    Vamhagen,  p.  45. 

'^  **  Morte  rillana :  **  see  I^ante,  Vkti  Nwoma^  riii.,  and  Profea- 
lor  Norton  s  charming  Teraion. 

*  One  hositaftee  to  ear  too  pontiTelj  about  aar  book  that  it  haa 
peciehed.    Thinge  hare  snch  qneer  wajt  of  taming  np,  as  for  in- 

OS  IImi  gOTiwinaat  of  Ath— j  after  ita 


MUNDUS  N0VU3.  89 

As  for  the  letters  themselves,  the  manuscripts 
are  nowhere  forthcoming,  and  until  lately  it  has 
been  maintained  that  none  of  the  printed  texts 
are  originals,  but  that  all  are  reprints  The  Latin  rer- 
from  a  primitive  text  that  has  been  SS'iitSJto' 
lost.  Of  the  letter  to  Soderini  the  ver-  ^^'^• 
sion  which  has  played  the  most  important  part  in 
history  is  the  Latin  one  first  published  at  the  press 
of  the  little  college  at  Saint-Di^  in  Lorraine,  April 
25  (vij  Kl'  Maij),  1507.  We  shall  presently  have 
more  to  say  about  the  remarkable  book  in  which 
this  version  appears ;  suffice  it  here  to  observe  that 
it  was  translated,  not  from  an  original  text,  but 
from  an  intermediate  French  yersion,  which  is 
lost.     Of  late  years,  however,  we  have 

,  •'  ,  ,  Recent  diacoT- 

detected,  in  an  excessively  rare  Italian  e^oftiM 
text,  the  orifidnal  from  which  the   fa-  itrfiw*  text, 

.^^  ,  ,  1505-06. 

mous  Lorraine  version  was  ultimately 
derived.  Of  this  little  book  M.  Harrisse  was  able 
in  1872  to  mention  four  copies  as  still  existing,  — 
one  in  the  Palatine  library  at  Florence,  one  in  the 
library  of  the  Marquis  Gino  Capponi  in  that  city, 
one  in  the  British  Musemn,  and  one  purchased  at 
Havana  in  1863  by  the  eminent  Brazilian  histo- 
rian, Francisco  Adolpho  de  Yamhagen,  Viscount 
de  Porto  Seguro.  This  last-named  copy  had  once 
been  in  the  Cartuja  at  Seville,  and  it  was  boimd  in. 

Rip  Van  Winkle  slmnber  of  two  thousand  years.  Of  a  certain 
copy  of  Oriedo^s  first  folio  (Toledo,  1526)  M.  Harrisse  obsenres : 
**  The  only  other  copy  which  we  know  of  this  extremely  rare  book 
is  in  HftTana,  and  was  found  in  a  Madrid  batcher's  stall,  as  the 
illiterate  dealer  in  meat  was  tearing  it  to  wrap  a  sirloin  of  beef 
which  a  pretty  manola  had  jnst  purchased/'  Notes  on  Columbus, 
New  York,  1866,  p.  13. 


40  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

vellum  together  with  a  tract  of  St.  Basil,  printed  at 
Florence  by  the  printer  Gian  Stefano  di  Carlo  di 
Pavia,  for  the  publisher  Pietro  Pacini,  of  Pescia,  in 
1506.  From  the  manner  in  which  the  edges  of  the 
leaves  were  gnawed  it  was  evident  that  the  two 
tracts  had  been  within  the  same  cover  for  a  g^reat 
length  of  time.  Closer  exammation  showed  that 
they  were  printed  from  the  same  font  of  type ;  and 
a  passage  in  Girolamo  Priuli's  diary,  dated  July  9, 
1506,  says  that  the  voyages  of  Yespucius  have  al- 
ready been  printed.^  If  we  were  absolutely  sure 
that  this  statement  refers  to  this  edition,  it  would 
settle  its  date  beyond  all  question ;  but  as  there  is 
no  other  edition  ever  heard  of  or  known  to  have 
existed  to  which  it  can  possibly  refer,  the  circum- 
stantial evidence  becomes  exceedingly  strong. 
Moreover  the  language  of  this  text  is  a  corrupt 
Italian,  abounding  in  such  Spanish  and  Portu- 
guese words  and  turns  of  expression  as  Yespucius 
woidd  have  been  likely,  during  fourteen  years  of 
residence  in  the  Iberian  peninsula  and  of  associa- 
tion ^*ith  its  sailors,  to  incorporate  into  his  every- 
day s{>eeoh.  This  fact  is  veiy  significant,  for  if  a 
lH>ok  thus  printed  in  Florence  were  a  translation 
frt>m  anything  else,  its  language  would  be  likely 
to  1)0  the  oniinar}'  Italian  of  the  time,  not  a  jar- 
g\>n  salttnl  with  Atlantic  brine.  Altogether  it 
soinus  in  tlie  highest  degree  probable  that  we  have 
hero  tho  primitive  toxt«  long  given  up  for  lost,  of 

R  t««iti«  «  t«tt^  VMIA  in  fckMnp*  noCAti  ^mi  gran  iateUigeiuat.** 
f^iMriiii.  Lmtr^tm^  nurttNMMU  IWws  1  «^  p^  17^ 


..#■■ 


dtatifOKimoDanKnte 
Awnriflsai. 


Facdmils  of  title-p>gs  of  the  origriiul  lulian  edition  at  the  lattar 
fiom  VMpadn*  to  tiodariiii,  pnbliihed  al  FloraDca,  150i>-0tl. 


42  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

the  ever  memorable  letter  from  Yespueius  to  his 
former  schoolmate  Soderini.^ 

If  now  we  compare  this  primitive  text  with  the 
Latin  of  the  Lorraine  version  of  1507,  we  observe 
that  in  the  latter  one  proper  name  —  the  Tndian 
name  of  a  place  visited  by  Americus  on  his  first 
chaaM  of  the  ^^.V^S®  —  ^^^^  bccn  altered.  In  the  ori- 
£liS  iSo*  gi^^  **  is  Lariah  ;  in  the  Latin  it  has 
**»•  '»S»».  become  Parias.  This  looks  like  an  in- 
JjJ^*^"*  stance  of  injudicious  editing  on  the  part 
Mri^'3^  of  the  Latin  translator,  although,  of 
S!i^TSL-  course,  it  may  be  a  case  of  careless 
^^  proof-reading.     Lariab  is  a  queer-look- 

ing word.     It  is  no  wonder  that  a  scholar  in  his 

^  The  title  of  this  edition  is  Lettera  di  Awurigo  Veapfieei  deUe 
isoU  muowawunte  trouate  in  quattro  suoi  viaggi,  sixteen  uraombered 
leares  in  qoaito.  It  is  No.  87  in  HarrisBe's  Bibliotheca  Awtericama 
Vehutissima,  New  York,  1866,  whero  the  date  1516  is  eonjectn- 
rallj  assigned  it ;  bat  that  date  is  dearly  wron|^,  as  H.  Hairisse 
has  since  leoognixed.  In  the  Additions  (Paris,  1872)  to  his  gieat 
work  he  is  inclined  to  adopt  Vamhagen^s  date,  1505-1506,  and 
oonsiderBit  **  almost  certain  **  that  thu  text  was  the  original  sooroe 
off  the  Lorraine  Latin  rerrion  published  April  25, 1507.  M.  d^Are- 
sae  is  of  the  same  opinion ;  see  his  Martin  ITaltzemMUerj  p.  46. 
For  ^e  whole  aignment,  see  Vamhagen,  ^sien^  Vespucci,  pp. 
27-<31.  This  primitiTe  text  is  reprodnced,  page  for  page  and  line 
for  line,  with  all  its  typographical  peculiarities  and  its  few  quaint 
wood  cuts,  by  Vamhagen.  Mr.  Quaritch  {Romgk  List,  No.  Ill, 
April  16,  1S91,  p.  52)  says  there  are  fire  copies  extant.  He 
bought  one  for  £524  at  the  sale  of  the  late  Dr.  Court's  Hbraiy  at 
Paris  in  1SS4  ;  and  it  is  now.  I  believe,  in  the  librarr  of  Mr.  C.  EL 
Kalbfleiach.  of  New  York.  From  this  original  Mr.  Quaritch  pub- 
lished in  1S85  a  facsimile  reproducti<Hi.  whi<^  may  be  bought  for 
fire  guineas,  and  an  English  translation,  price  two  guineas  and  a 
half ;  so  that  now  for  the  6rst  time  since  the  discoverv  of  Amer- 
ica  an  English  zvader  not  thoroughly  at  home  in  Italian  thickly 
interlarded  with  Spanish  and  Portuguese  can  see  for  himself  what 
Ve^ncitts  really  said. 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  48 

study  among  the  mountains  of  Lorraine  could 
make  nothing  of  it.  If  he  had  happened  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  language  of  the  Huastecas, 
who  dwelt  at  that  time  about  the  river  Panuco, 
—  fierce  and  dreaded  enemies  of  their  southern 
neighbours,  the  Aztecs,  —  he  would  have  known 
that  names  of  places  in  that  region  were  apt  to 
end  in  ab  (Tanlajab,  Tancuayalab,  Tancuallalab),^ 
very  much  as  English  names  of  towns  are  apt  to 
end  in  ham  and  Persian  names  of  countries  in 
Stan.  But  as  such  facts  were  quite  beyond  our 
worthy  translator's  ken,  we  cannot  much  blame 
him  if  he  felt  that  such  a  word  as  Lariab  needed 
doctoring.  Farias  (Paria)  was  known  to  be  the 
native  name  of*  a  region  on  the  western  shores  of 
the  Atlantic,  and  so  Lariab  became  Farias.  As 
the  distance  from  the  one  place  to  the  other  is 
more  than  two  thousand  miles,  this  little  emenda- 
tion shifted  the  scene  of  the  first  voyage  beyond 
all  recognition,  and  cast  the  whole  subject  into  an 
outer  darkness  where  there  has  since  been  much 
groaning  and  gnashing  of  teeA. 

Another  curious  circumstance  came  in  to  con- 
firm this  error.     On  his  first  voyage, 
shortly  before  arriving  at  Lariab,  Ves-  tie  wooden 

pUCiuS  saw  an  InfliftTl  town  built  over  ed  and  abetted 
*  the  error. 

the  water,  "  like  Venice."     He  counted 
forty-four  large  wooden  houses,  "like  barracks," 
supported  on  huge  tree-trunks  and  communicating 
with  each  other  by  bridges  that  could  be  drawn 

^  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia  de  lengoas  y  carta  etnogrdfica  de 
Mlxico,  p.  289;  VarnhageB,  Lt  premier  voyage  de  Vespucci^ 
!».  2a 


44  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

up  in  case  of  danger.  This  may  well  have  been 
a  village  of  eommmial  houses  of  the  Chontals  on 
the  coast  of  Tabasco  ;  but  such  villages  were  after- 
wards seen  on  the  gulf  of  Maracaibo,  and  one  of 
them  was  called  Venezuela,^  or  "  Little  Venice/' 
a  name  since  spread  over  a  territory  nearly  twice 
as  large  as  France.  So  the  amphibious  town  de- 
scribed by  Vespucius  was  incontinently  moved  to 
Maracaibo,  as  if  there  could  be  only  one  such 
place,  as  if  that  style  of  defensive  building  had 
not  been  common  enough  in  many  ages  and  in 
many  parts  of  the  earth,  from  ancient  Switzer- 
land to  modem  Siam.  Such  **  little  Venices^ 
might  once  have  been  seen  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Amazon,  and  there  is  now,  or  has  lately  been,  a 
similar  town  named  Bodegas,  on  the  coast  of  Ec- 
uador, near  Gruayaquil.^ 

Thus  in  spite  of  the  latitudes  and  longitudes 
_  distinctly  stated   by  Vespucius  in  his 

Theobarg*  f'  ,  '^  ^  , 

that  v««pu.      letter,  did  Lariab  and  the  little  wooden 

cioa  feigned  ^    .^y-      ,  i«i»ii» 

hAvediflcoT.      Venice   get  shifted  from  the   ffulf  of 

eredthecoMt     ^.      .         **      ,  -  ^  r>        t 

of  Paru  in  Mexico  to  the  northern  coast  of  South 
America.  Now  there  is  no  question 
that  Vespucius  in  his  second  voyage,  with  Ojeda 
for  captain,  did  sail  along  that  coast,  visiting  the 
g^lfs  of  Paria  and  Maracaibo.     This  was  in  the 

1  The  name  occnra  in  this  phice  on  La  Cosa^s  map,  vhich  thos 
confirms  the  common  statement  that  Ojeda  found  such  a  Tillage 
on  his  first  Toja^i^  (Vespncios^s  second)  in  1499.  Ojeda  at  first 
called  the  g^f  **  the  lake  of  St.  Bartholomew/'  because  he  dis- 
eorered  it  on  the  24th  of  August ;  some  years  afterward  he  spoke 
ol  it  as  "gulf  of  Venice"  {go!fo  de  Venecia).  See  Navarretc^ 
Ccieeeion^  Una.  iii.  p.  S. 

*  Vanikagan,  Le  premier  vofoffe  de  Veqmcd,  p-  13. 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  45 

summer  of  1499,  one  year  after  a  part  of  the 
same  coast  had  been  visited  by  Columbus.  Hence 
in  a  later  period,  long  after  the  actors  in  these 
scenes  had  been  gathered  unto  their  fathers,  and 
when  people  had  begun  to  wonder  how  the  New 
World  could  ever  have  come  to  be  called  America 
instead  of  Columbia,  it  was  suggested  that  the 
first  voyage  described  by  Vespucius  must  be  merely 
a  clumsy  and  fictitious  duplicate  of  the  second, 
and  that  he  invented  it  and  thrust  it  back  from 
1499  to  1497,  in  order  that  he  might  be  ^he  dat«  uw 
accredited  with  the  "discovery  of  the  S^ai^*^ 
continent "  one  year  in  advance  of  his  nJi^^g  of* 
friend  Columbus.  It  was  assmned  that  '^*^'*<«- 
he  must  have  written  his  letter  to  Soderini  with 
the  base  intention  of  supplanting  his  friend,  and 
that  the  shabby  device  was  successfuL  This  ex- 
planation seemed  so  simple  and  intelligible  that  it 
became  quite  generally  adopted,  and  it  held  its 
ground  until  the  subject  began  to  be  critically 
studied  and  Alexander  von  Humboldt  showed, 
about  sixty  years  ago,  that  the  first  naming  of 
America  occurred  in  no  such  way  as  had  been 
supposed. 

As  soon  as  we  refrain  from  projecting  our  mod- 
em knowledge  of  geography  into  the  past,  as  soon 
as  we  pause  to  consider  how  these  great  events 
appeared  to  the  actors  themselves,  the  absurdity 
of  this  accusation  against  Americus  becomes  evi- 
dent.  We  are  told  that  he  falsely  pretended  to 
have  visited  Paria  and  Maracaibo  in  1497,  in 
order  to  claim  priority  over  Columbus  in  the  dis- 
covery of    "the    continent."     What    continent? 


46  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMESICA. 

When  Vespucius  wrote   that  letter  to  Soderini, 
in  1504,  neither  he  nor  anybody   else 

Abmirdi^y  in-  '  ,i     a 

hereiit  In  the    suspected  that  what  we  now  call  Amer- 

ohftrge*  

ica  had  been  discovered.  The  only  con- 
tinent of  which  there  could  be  any  question,  so 
far  as  supplanting  Columbus  was  concerned,  was 
Asia.  But  in  1504  Columbus  was  generally  sup- 
posed to  have  discovered  the  continent  of  Asia, 
by  his  new  route,  in  1492.  In  that  year  and  in 
1494,  taking  the  two  voyages  together,  he  had 
sailed  more  than  a  thousand  miles  along  the  coast 
of  Cuba  without  detecting  its  insular  character. 
As  the  history  of  that  time  has  always,  until  very 
lately,  been  written,  we  have  been  told  that  the 
iosularity  of  Cuba  was  first  revealed  by  Sebastian 
de  Ocampo,  who  circumnavigated  it  in  1508.  If 
this  opinion  were  correct,  Americus  could  not  pos- 
sibly have  undertaken  to  antedate  Columbus  with 
his  figure  1497 ;  it  would  have  been  necessary 
for  him  to  feign  a  voyage  earlier  than  the  autunm 
of  1492.  As  I  shall  presently  show,  however, 
Americus  probably  did  know,  in  1504,  that  Cuba 
was  an  island,  inasmuch  as  in  1497-98  he  had 
|>a8soil  to  the  west  of  it  himself,  touching  the 
coasts  of  botli  Yucatan  and  Florida !  If  this  view 
is  cornvU  then  ho  did  visit  what  we  now  know  to 
have  Ikh>ii  tlie  continent  of  America^  but  which 
ho  sup]H>8<^d  ti>  l>o  tlie  continent  of  Asia«  a  3f^ar  in 
advanoo  of  C<^Iumbus^  and  of  course  the  accusa- 
tion a^nst  him  falls  tci  the  ground.  From  this 
dilomma  tlion>  sooms  to  bo  no  escape. 

Tho  )^r{Joxity  surroiUHlii^  the  account  of  the 
finl  voyage  of  Vospucius  b  therefore  chiefly  duo 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  47 

to  the  lack  of  intelligence  with  which  it  has  been 
read.  There  is  no  reason  whatever  for  imagining 
dishonesty  in  his  narrative,  and  no  reason  for  not 
admitting  it  as  evidence  on  the  same  terms  as 
those  upon  which  we  admit  other  contemporary- 
documents.  The  court  presmnes  the  witness  to 
be  truthful  until  adequate  reason  has  been  alleged 
for  a  contrary  presumption.  What,  then,  are  we 
to  conclude  in  the  case  of  this  voyage  of  1497  ? 

The  evidence  that  no  such  voyage  was  made  in 
that  year  along  the  Pearl  Coast  is  as  strong  as  it 
is  possible  for  negative  evidence  to  be ;  indeed  it 
seems  unanswerable.  We  have  seen  how  Colum- 
bus, owing  to  his  troubles  with  rebellious  Span- 
iards and  the  machinations  of  his  enemy  Fonseca, 
was  deprived  of  his  government  of  Hispaniola, 
and  how  he  ended  his  days  in  poverty  and  neglect, 
vainly  urging  King  Ferdinand  (as  acting  regent 
of  Castile)  to  reinstate  him  in  the  dignities  and 
emoluments  which  had  been  secured  to  him  by 
solenm  compact  under  the  royal  seal  in  April, 
1492.  The  right  to  these  dignities  and  emolu- 
ments  was  inherited  by  his  eldest  son,  cui..of  di. 
Don  Diego  Columbus,  and  that  young  ^  ^^^^ 
man  was  earnest  in  pressing  his  claims.  H^  urged 
that  Ovando  should  be  recalled  from  Hispaniola 
and  himself  duly  installed  as  viceroy  of  the  Indies, 
with  his  percentage  of  the  revenues  accruing  from 
Hispaniola,  the  Pearl  Coast,  and  such  other  re- 
gions as  his  father  had  discovered.  Whether 
these  claims  of  Diego  would  ever  have  received 
any  recognition,  except  for  one  fortunate  circum- 
stance, may  be  doubted.     Diego   seems   to  hav9 


48  THE  mSCOVEBT  OF  AMERICA. 

inherited  hia  father's  good  forhme  in  winning  the 
hearts  of  aristocratic  ladies.  He  had  lived  in  the 
royal  household  since  he  was  taken  there  as  a  jMge 
in  1492,  and  in  1508  he  married  a  princess,  Maria 
de  Toledo,  whose  paternal  grandmother  was  sister 
to  the  mother  of  Ferdinand  the  Catholic.^  The 
next  year  Ovando  wa^  recalled  from  Hispanioh^ 
and  Diego,  accompanied  by  his  bride  and  many 
people  from  the  court,  went  out  and  assumed  the 
government  of  the  Indies.*  The  king,  however, 
was  not  prepared  to  admit  the  full  claims  of  Diego 
Columbus  to  a  percentage  on  the  revenues  with- 
out interposing  every  obstacle  in  his  power.  It 
was  understood  that  the  matter  must  be  adjusted 
by  litigation ;  and  in  1508,  the  year  of  his  mar- 

riafi:e,  Dieeo  broufi^ht  suit  asfainst  the 
■cainst  the      crowu  of  Castilc,  lu  the  nscal  court  of 

that  kingdom,  for  the  full  restitution  of 
rights  and  emoluments  wrongfully  withheld  from 
the  heir  of  the  Admiral  Don  Christopher  Colum- 
bus. This  suit  dawdled  along  for  several  years, 
as  such  suits  are  apt  to  do.  Various  pleas  in 
abatement  of  Diego's  demands  were  presented  by 
the  crown.  At  length  in  1513  a  plea  was  put  in 
which  invested  the  case  with  fresh  interest,  inso- 
much that  Diego  came  home  from  Hispaniola  to 
give  it  his  personal  care.  The  king  had  taken  it 
into  his  head  to  subject  the  Admiral's  claims  as 
discoverer  to  a  critical  examination,  in  the  hope  of 
paring  them  down  to  as  small  a  figure  as  possible. 

*  Soe  IXarriase,  Ckristopke  Coiomby  torn.  ii.  p.  247. 

*  Herrera,  d«c.  i.  oap.  rii  p.  189;  Oriedo,  Hisiona  geMral  iU 
Im  iiicf lot,  torn.  i.  p.  97. 


MUNDUS  NOV  US.  49 

An  inquiry  was  accordingly  instituted  in  1513, 
and  renewed  in  1515,  in  order  to  define  Tbefrrmt  jn- 
by  a  judicial  decision  how  much  Colum-  — *the /9S-'^ 
bus  had  discovered  and  how  far  the  **"•*"• 
work  of  other  navigators  might  properly  be  held  to 
diminish  his  claims  to  originality.  Observe  that 
the  question  at  issue  was  not  as  to  ^^  who  discov- 
ered America."  It  was  a  question  of  much  nar- 
rower and  more  definite  import,  and  the  interest 
felt  in  it  by  both  parties  to  the  suit  was  mainly 
a  pecimiary  interest.  The  question  was:  —  in 
just  what  islands  and  stretches  of  ^^  terra  firma " 
in  the  Indies  was  Diego  Columbus  entitled  to 
claim  a  share  in  the  revenues  on  the  strength  of 
his  father's  discoveries  ?  What  might  have  been 
done  by  other  Spanish  navigators,  outside  of  the 
regions  visited  by  Christopher  Columbus,  Was 
quite  irrelevant ;  the  Colmnbus  family  could  have 
no  claim  upon  such  regions.  The  investigation, 
therefore,  was  directed  chiefly  upon  three  points : 
—  1.  great  pains  were  taken  to  bring  out  all  the 
facts  relating  to  the  discovery  of  the  rich  Pearl 
Coast ;  2.  much  less  attention  was  given  to  the  Ad- 
miral's last  voyage  along  Honduras  and  Veragua ; 
and  3.  some  attempt  was  made  to  see  if  his  merit 
in  first  pointing  out  the  way  to  the  Indies  could 
be  diminished  by  proof  of  indispensable  aid  ren- 
dered by  Martin  Alonso  Pinzon  and  others. 

These  interrogatories  and  answers,  which  were 
published  in  the  great  work  of  Navarrete  under 
the  general  title  of  Prohanzas^  are  simply  in- 
valuable for  the  light  which  they  throw  VL\)on  the 

^  Nayarrete,  CoUocion  de  viages,  torn,  iii  pp.  638-^16* 


50  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

biography  of  Columbus  and  some  of  the  more 
minute  details  in  the  history  of  the  time.     With 
legard  to   the  alleged  voyage  of  Yespucius  (as 
along  the  Pearl  Coaaf)  in  1497  they  are  quite 
conclusive.     Nearly  a  hundred  witnesses  were  ex- 
amined under  oath,  including  Alonso  de  Ojeda 
himself,  who  made  the  voyage  along  that  coast  in 
1499,  when  he  had  with  him  Juan  de  La  Cosa, 
Americus  Yespucius,   and  other  pilots.^     Ojeda 
was  a  friend  of  Fonseca  and  an  enemy  of  Colum- 
bus.    In  his  voyage  of  141^9  he  used  a 
vespocitts  did   copy  of  a  chart,  furnished  him  by  Fon- 
the  Pearl        seca,  which  had  been  made  by  Colum- 
bus  the  year  before  and  sent  by  him 
to  the  sovereigns.     At  the  time  of  the  JProban- 
zas^  Yespucius  and  La  Cosa  were  both  in  their 
graves  and  could  not  be  summoned  as  witnesses, 
but  Ojeda's  testimony  was  positive  and  explicit 
that  Columbus  was  the   discoverer  of  the  Pearl 
Coast.     Now  if  his  own  pilot,  Yespucius,  had  vis- 
ited that  coast  in  1497,  Ojeda  could  not  have 
failed  to  know  the  fact,  and  he  would  have  been 
only  too  glad  to  proclaim  it.     If  such  a  fact  could 
have  been  established,  it  would  at  once  have  set- 
tled the  question  as  to  the  Pearl  Coast  in  favour 
of  the  king,  and  there  would  have  been  no  need 
of  the  elaborate  but  weak  and  unsuccessful  argu- 
ments to  which  the  crown  lawyers  had  recourse 
The  result  of  the  inquiry  was  overwhelmingly  in 
favour  of  Columbus ;  and  from  beginning  to  end 

^  **  En  este  riage  que  este  dicbo  testigo  tmjo  consigo  d  Joan  de 
1a  Com,  ptloto,  e  Morigo  Vespoche,  e  otros  pilotos.*'  KaTsireie^ 
toOB.  m,  p  544. 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  61 

not  an  interrogatory  nor  an  answer,  either  on  the 
part  of  Diego  or  on  the  part  of  the  crown,  betrayed 
the  faintest  glimmering  of  a  consciousness  that 
anybody  had  ever  made,  or  that  ant/body  had  ever 
professed  to  have  made^  a  voyage  along  the  Pearl 
Coast  before  1498. 

This  fact  has  been  commonly  and  rightly  re- 
garded as  decisive.  It  makes  it  morally  certain 
that  Vespucius  did  not  visit  Paria  or  Maracaibo 
or  the  coast  between  them  in  1497.  But  it  con- 
tains another  implication  which  seems  to 
have  passed  without  notice.  It  makes  it  eqaia^oroe, 
equally  certain  that  Vespucius  had  never  profeasedto 

/»  ^    ,     t  1  1  iiave  done  so. 

professed  to  have  made  such  a  voyage. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  Prohanzas^  in  1513,  the 
Italian  letter  from  Vespucius  to  Soderini  had  been 
in  print  at  least  seven  years ;  the  Latin  version, 
which  made  it  accessible  to  educated  men  all  over 
Europe,  had  been  in  print  six  years,  and  was  so 
popular  that  it  had  gone  through  at  least  six  edi- 
tions. We  can  hardly  suppose  the  letter  to  have 
been  unknown  in  Spain ;  indeed  we  know  that  one 
copy  of  the  Italian  original  was  in  Spain  in  1513 
in  the  possession  of  Ferdinand  Columbus,  who 
bought  it  in  Rome  in  September,  1512,  for  five 
cuattrini}  From  1508  until  his  death  in  Febnu 
ary,  1512,  Americus  held  one  of  the  highest  ponU 
tions  in  the  Spanish  marine.  Now  if  the  Vihui 
Major  of  Spain  had  ever  made  any  public  \mtUn^- 
sions  which  in  any  way  tended  to  invaliilaU?  i\m 
claun  of  Diego  Columbus,  that  his  father  \mi  i\r^ 
discovered  the  Pearl  Coast,  can  we  for  a  WH$mki 

^  Hairiiw,  Femand  Colombo  p.  1 U 


52  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

suppose  that  at  just  that  time,  with  such  a  lawsuit 
impending,  the  king  would  not  have  heard  of 
those  pretensions  and  used  them  for  all  they  were 
worth?  It  is  not  supposable.  The  fact  that 
neither  party  to  the  suit  knew  of  such  claims  on 
the  part  of  Americus  proves  not  only  that  they 
were  unfounded^  but  that  they  had  never  been 
made.  It  shows  that  contemporary  Spaniards, 
familiar  with  the  facts  and  reading  the  narrative 
of  his  voyages,  did  not  understand  the  first  one  as 
referring  to  the  Pearl  Coast,  but  to  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent region. 

It  was  M.  Vamhagen  who  first  turned  inquiry 
Theiandfau  ou  this  subjcct  in  the  right  direction. 
▼oyiI^S*ve«.  Where  does  Vespucius  say  that  he  went 
Sear'cilpr  ou  his  first  voyagc  ?  He  says  that  he 
Hondura..       ^f^^^^  May  10,  1497,  from  Cadiz  and 

ran  to  the  Grand  Canary,  the  distance  of  which 
from  Lisbon  he  calls  280  leagues.  We  thus  find 
the  length  of  the  league  used  by  Vespucius  and 
get  a  scale  wherewith  to  measure  his  distances. 
That  run  is  not  likely  to  have  been  made  in  less 
than  seven  days,  and  as  he  staid  eight  days  more 
at  the  Grand  Canary,  he  must  have  started  thence 
about  May  25.  After  a  run  of  37  (or  27)  days  ^ 
he  made  land  in  a  direction  about  west-southwest 
from  the  Canaries  and  distant  1,000  leagues,  in 
latitude  16°  N.  and  longitude  75°  W.  from  the 
meridian  of  the  Grand  Canary.  If  we  suppose 
this  land  to  have  been  Cape  Honduras,  the  lati- 
tude, about  which  Vespucius  was  least  likely  to  be 
mistaken,  is  exactly  right ;  his  distance  by  dead 

^  See  below,  p.  87,  note. 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  53 

reckoning  is  somewhat  too  small,  probably  because 
he  failed  to  allow  for  the  acceleration  due  to  the 
westward  current  in  the  Caribbean  sea ;  and  his 
longitude  is  scarcely  6°  in  excess,  a  very  moderate 
error  for  those  days.  The  northern  coast  of  Hon- 
duras not  only  thus  suits  the  conditions  of  the 
case,^  but  makes  the  subsequent  details  of  the 
voyage  consistent  and  intelligible.  Having  taken 
a  correct  start  by  simply  following  the  words  of 
Vespucius  himself,  from  a  primitive  text,  without 
reference  to  any  preconceived  theories  or  tradi- 
tions, M.  Varnhagen  finds,  from  further  analysis 
of  the  narrative,  that  he  sailed  around  Yucatan, 
and  found  his  aquatic  village  of  communal  houses,^ 
his  little  wooden  Venice,  on  the  shore  of  Tabasco. 
Thence,  after  a  fight  with  the  natives  in  which  a 
few  tawny  prisoners  ^  were  captured  and  carried 
on  board  the  caravels,  Vespucius  seems  to  have 
taken  a  straight  course  to  the  Huasteca  country  by 

^  The  entrance  to  the  gn\£  of  Maracaibo  is  about  12^  N.  by  52^ 
W.  from  Canaries ;  Paria,  at  the  other  end  of  the  Pearl  Coast,  is 
abont  11^  N.  by  44°  W.  from  Canaries ;  so  that  no  point  on  that 
coast  can  by  any  possibility  be  intended  by  Vespucius. 

''^  In  a  single  house  Vespucius  found  600  people,  and  in  one 
place  he  estimated  the  population  of  13  houses  as  about  4,000,  or 
rather  more  than  300  to  a  house.  These  figures  are  eminently 
probable. 

'  They  were  of  medium  stature,  and  well  proportioned,  with 
reddish  skin  like  a  lion^s :  —  "  Sono  di  medtana  statura,  raolto  ben 
proportionati :  le  lor  cami  sono  di  colore  ohe  pende  in  rosso  come 
pelle  di  lione."  Lettera  (ed.  1505-1506),  fol.  a.  iii.  recto.  Varnha- 
gen, p.  37.  He  notes  their  ornaments  of  gorgeous  feathers,  their 
hammocks,  and  their  "  patemostrini  che  fanno  doesi  di  peschi," 
i.  e.  "  paternosters  made  of  fish-bones  "  (fol.  a.  iv.  yerso),  meaning 
strings  analogous  to  quipus  and  to  wampum-belts.  See  below, 
p.  299. 


54 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 


Tampico,  without  touching  at  points  in  the  region 

subject  or  tributary   to   the   Aztec   confederacy. 

,,  This  Tampico  country  was  what  Vespu- 

inceofL»r       cius   uuilerstood  to   be   called  Lariab. 

nab.  * 

He  again  gives  the  latitude  definitely 
and  correctly  as  23^  N.,^  and  he  mentions  a  few  in- 
teresting circumstances.  He  saw  the  natives  roast- 
ing a  dreadfully  ugly  animal,  ^^like  a  serpent, 
[dragon?]  only  it  had  no  wings."    It  was  about  the 


First  voyage  of  Vespucius  (with  Pinzon  and  Solis,  1497-98). 

size  of  a  kid,  half  as  long  again  as  a  man's  arm, 
with  a  hard  skin  of  various  hues,  a  snout  and  face 
like  a  serpent's,  and  a  saw-like  crest  running  from 
the  top  of  its  head  down  the  middle  of  its  back 
and  on  to  the  up|>er  part  of  its  tail.     The  sailors 

^  It  is  jast  2,400  miles  distant,  as  the  crow  flies,  from  Paria,  the 
rcpfion  with  which  it  has  so  long  been  stupidly  identified.  This 
h;i8  been  preeminently  one  of  the  cases  mentioned  by  Bishop 
Berkeley,  in  which  commentators  first  kick  up  a  dust  and  thea 
wonder  why  they  cannot  see  through  it  I 


MUNDU8  N0VU8,  56 

saw  many  of  these  creatures,  and  were  afraid  to 
touch  them  lest  they  might  have  a  ven- 
omous bite,  but  the  natives  esteemed  jpanMand 
them  as  delicacies.    This  is  an  excellent       ^ 
description  of  the  iguana,  the  flesh  of  which  is  to 
this  day  an  important  article  of  food  in  tropical 
America.^    These  Huastecas  also  made  cakes  or 

1  "  Done  nede^mo  che  arrostiuano  on  certo  animale  ch'  parena 
nn  aerpe*te,  saloo  ch'  do*  tenena  alia,  &  nella  apparenza  ta^to 
bmito,  che  molto  cimaraniglia^mo  della  sua  fiereza:  Anda^mo 
con  P(  le  lor  case,  o  uero  tra  bacdie  <&  bana'mo  molti  di  qnesti 
■erpe*te  uini,  &  eron  legati  pe  piedi  .  .  .  :  eron  di  tanto  fiero 
aspecto,  che  neasimo  di  noi  no*  ardiua  di  tome  uno,  pexisando,  ch* 
eron  uenenod:  sono  di  grandeza  di  nno  cauretto  &  di  ln*gheza 
braocia  uno  &.  mezo :  te'  gono  epiedi  langhi  &  groesi  &  armati  co' 
grocBB  unghie:  tengono  la  pelle  dura,  &  sono  di  narii  colori: 
ftlmnso  <&  f aocia  tengon  di  serpe^te :  &  dal  naso  simnoae  loro  una 
eresta  come  una  segha,  che  juissa  loro  p^  elmezo  delle  schiene 
infiiio  aUa  sommita  della  coda :  in  co^clusione  gligiudica'mo  serpi 
it  uenenod,  segli  ma'giauano."  Lettera^  fol.  a.  v.  recto.  Vam- 
hagen,  p.  43.  Compare  the  description  in  the  Centvry  Diction- 
ary:  —  *^  It  attains  a  length  of  five  feet  or  more,  and  presents  a 
rather  formidable  appearance,  but  is  inoffensive  unless  molested ; 
...  its  flesh  is  much  used  for  food.  The  taSl  is  very  long,  com- 
pressed, and  tapering ;  a  row  of  scales  along  the  back  is  devel- 
oped into  a  serrate  crest  or  dorsal  ridge ;  the  head  is  covered  with 
scaly  plates ; ...  its  coloration  is  variegated  with  brownish,  gpreen- 
iah,  and  yellowish  tints."  Tet  this  well-known  animal  has  sorely 
pmaded  the  commentators.  It  is  not  easy  to  imagine,  says  Navar- 
rete  (tom.  iii.  p.  225),  what  kind  of  a  serpent  this  could  have  been, 
as  big  as  a  kid,  and  with  wings  and  feet  (y  que  tenian  alcLs  y  pies), 
and  he  is  inclined  to  set  it  down  as  "  one  of  Vespucio*s  many  ab- 
Bordities'*  (uno  de  los  muchos  absurdos  de  Vespucio  en  8U$  rela- 
clones).  Apparently  Navarrete  could  not  read  his  own  text  cor- 
rectly when  a  chance  was  offered  for  a  fling  at  poor  old  Vespncius, 
for  that  text  (on  the  very  same  page  I !)  reads  "  only  it  did  not 
have  wings  "  (solo  que  no  tenia  alcis)  I  Why  should  Vespucius 
have  taken  the  pains  to  say  that  it  had  no  wings  ?  It  probably 
indicates  that  he  had  only  a  literary  acquaintance  with  serpents, 
and  dimly  confused  them  with  dragons. 


&6  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

patties  out  of  small  fish,  wliich  they  kneaded  up 
with  a  sort  of  pastry  and  baked  upon  red-hot  coals. 
The  Spaniards  tasted  them  and  found  them  good.^ 
The  people  were  enemies  of  those  whom  the  Span- 
iards had  found  in  the  "  litde  Venice  "  over  on  the 
Tabasco  shore,  and  when  it  was  observed  that 
some  of  the  latter  were  shackled  prisoners  on 
board  the  caravels,^  the  white  men  were  forthwith 
greeted  as  friends.  The  Indians  received  them 
most  hospitably,  and  under  their  escort  twenty- 
three  of  the  mariners,  among  whom  Yespucius  was 
one,  made  a  journey  some  eighteen  leagues  inland, 
to  see  what  could  be  foimd  in  that  country.  They 
visited  several  villages,  composed  of  commimal 
houses.     In  one  of  these  villages,  described  as  well 


Navarrete's  remark  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  mingled  dnbn 
and  flippancy  with  which  commentators  have  been  wont  to  treat  the 
great  Florentine  sailor,  —  finding  it  easier  to  charge  him  with  ab- 
surdities than  patiently  to  ascertain  his  meaning.  Even  Mr.  Les- 
ter, in  a  different  temper  from  Navarrete,  thinks  that  **  the  navi- 
gator has  perhaps  drawn  somewhat  upon  his  imagination  in  his 
description  of  this  animal "  {Life  of  Americm  Vespucius^  p.  129). 
Yet,  as  we  have  here  seen,  his  description  is  strictly  accorate,  and 
I  cite  it  in  illustration  of  the  general  faithfulness  of  his  narrative. 
—  As  for  the  flesh  of  the  ugly  reptile,  I  do  not  find  any  mention 
of  it  among  the  1,304  dishes  described  by  Alessandro  Filippini,  of 
Delmonico's,  in  his  interesting  book,  The  Table,  New  Tork,  1889 ; 
but  one  fancies  that  it  might  be  so  treated  as  to  commend  itself 
to  epicures,  even  as  the  peerless  terrapin,  of  which  one  of  our 
British  cousins  is  said  to  have  declared,  "  Upon  my  word,  it  *s  not 
so  nasty  as  it  looks  I  *'  I  have  been  told  that  the  flavour  of  the 
iguana  reminds  one  of  spring  chicken. 

^  "  Proua^molo,  <&  troua'mo  che  era  buono.**  Compare  some  of 
the  Mexican  dishes  mentioned  below,  p.  268. 

'  They  were  expert  swimmers  and  thought  nothing  of  jumping 
overboard  and  striking  out  for  the  shore,  even  when  it  was  several 
leagues  distant  and  out  of  sight ;  so  that  all  those  whom  the  Spafr 
iards  had  not  put  in  irons  had  escaped. 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  67 

peopled,  the  number  of  such  houses  was  but  nine. 
Lions  and  panthers  ^i.  e.  probably  pumas  and 
ocelots)  were  seen,  but  neither  horse,  ass,  nor  cow, 
nor  any  kind  of  domesticated  animaL^  It  was  a 
populous  country,  with  no  end  of  rivers,^  and  an 
astonishing  quantity  of  birds  of  most  brilliant 
phunages.  The  people  were  struck  dumb  with 
amazement  at  the  sight  of  the  white  strangers,  and 
when  they  had  so  far  recovered  themselves  as  to 
ask  the  latter  whence  they  came,  the  Spaniards 
gave  them  to  understand  that  they  came  from  be- 
yond the  sky. 

After  leaving  this  country  of  Lariab  the  ships 
kept  still  to  the  northwest  for  a  short 
distance,  and  then  followed  the  windings  Florida  and 
of  the  coast  for  870  leagues,'  frequently 
landing  and  doing  petty  traffic  with  the  natives. 

1  "  No  te'gbono  canalli  ne  nmli,  ne  eo*  renerentiaaniii,  ne  oani, 
BO  di  aoite  slcana  beetian^  peeolioso,  ne  luuscino :  ms  sono  ts*ti 
li  altri  i^w«w»<^H  cbe  te*ghono  &  taoti  sono  salnatichi,  A  di  nessimo 
sbemono  per  loro  semitie,  che  no*  npoason  eontare."  LetterOf 
iulL  b.  i  recto.    Vamhagen,  p.  45. 

*  **  Quests  terra  e  popnlatJHwma,  A  di  gente  piena,  A  dinfiniti 
fimm."     Id.    The  vhole  desoription  agrees  with  Tampico. 

'  According  to  the  most  obyions  reading  of  the  text  they  sailed 
K.  W.  for  870  leagues,  but  this  voold  be  impossible  npon  any 
ihi&ory  of  the  Toyage :  —  **  Partimo  di  qnesto  porto :  la  prooincia 
aidioe  Lariab :  A  naoiga^o  allnngo  della  costa  sempre  a  uista 
deOa  terra,  taoto  che  corre^mo  dessa  870  leghe  tntta  nia  uerso  el 
naestrale,**  etc  Letteniy  fol.  b.  i.  verso.  Vamhagen,  p.  46. 
I>oes  tuttavia  here  mean  "  always,"  or  "  still "  ?  For  the  equiva- 
lent Spanish  todavia  the  latter  meaning  is  the  more  primary  and 
nsoaL  M.  Vamhagen  supposes  that  the  words  "  tutta  uia  uerso 
el  maestrale"  belong  in  the  writer^s  mind  with  ''partimo  di 
qnesto  porto ; "  so  that  the  sense  would  be,  "  we  sailed  from  this 
port  still  to  the  K.  W.,  and  we  followed  the  coast  always  in  sight 
of  land  «atil  we  had  rua  870  leagues ''  (Xe  pnmUr  vffoge  ds 


68  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

They  bought  a  little  gold,  but  not  much.  Here 
the  letter  hurries  over  the  scene  somewhat 
abruptly.  It  was  not  likely  that  Soderini  would 
be  particularly  interested  in  the  shape  of  these 
strange  coasts,  and  as  for  red  Indians,  much  had 
already  been  said  about  them  in  the  earlier  part  of 
the  letter.  So  we  are  brought  quickly  to  the  end 
of  the  journey.  After  traversing  the  870  leagues 
of  crooked  coast  the  ships  found  themselves  in  ^^the 
finest  harbour  in  the  world."  It  was  in  June, 
1498,  thirteen  months  since  they  had  started  from 
Spain.  The  ships  were  leaky  Jdoti^erwisedilap. 
idated,  no  discoveries  of  abundant  gold  or  spices 
or  jewels,  calculated  to  awaken  enthusiasm,  had 
been  made,  and  the  men  were  tired  of  the  voyage. 
It  was  therefore  unanimously  agreed  ^  to  beach  and 
repair  the  ships,  and  then  return  home.  They 
spent  seven-and-thirty  days  in  this  unrivalled  har- 
bour, preparing  for  the  home  voyage,  and  found 
the  natives  very  hospitable.  These  red  men 
courted  the  aid  of  the  white  strangers.  On  some 
islands  a  hundred  leagues  or  more  out  at  sea  there 
lived  a  fierce  race  of  cannibals,  who  from  time  to 

Vespwxi,  p.  22).  If  the  style  of  Yespneiiifl  were  thai  of  a  oorreet 
ftnd  elegmnt  writer,  saeh  a  reading  would  be  haidlj  adnuarible, 
but  as  his  style  was  anything'  but  correct  and  elegant,  periu^  it 
may  pass.  Or  periiaps  N.  W.  may  hare  been  carelessly  sabsti- 
tated  for  N.  £.,  as  would  haye  been  easy  if  signs  were  need  in  the 
nuuraseript  instead  of  words  like  maestrale  and  greco.  Then  it 
would  mean  that  the  general  direction  after  leaving  Lariab  was 
N.  E.  Upon  any  possible  supposition  there  is  a  blonder  in  the 
statement  as  it  appears  in  the  printed  text. 

^  *^Acehorda*mo  di  comnne  consiglio  pone  le  nostre  naid 
amonte,  A  ricorrerle  per  staooharle,  che  faoeuaoo  molta  aoqna,* 
•to.    f ol.  b.  L  Terso. 


UUNDUS  Norus.  59 

time  in  fleets  of  canoes  invaded  the  coasts  of  tiie 
mainland  and  carried  off  human  victims  by  the 
score.  Here  a  source  of  profit  for  the  Spaniards 
was  suggested ;  for  CdumbuB,  as  we  shall  hereafter 
see,'  had  ah^adj  set  the  example  of  kidnapping 
cannibals,  and  it  was  coming  to  he  a  rec<^nized 
doctrine,  on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  government, 
that  it  was  right  for  people  "guilty  of  that  imnat- 
uxal  crime  "  to  he  sold  into  slavery.  The  expedi- 
tion with  which  Vespucius  was  sailing  TbeSMmo- 
weighed  anchor  late  in  August,  taking  ^**' 
seven  of  the  friendly  Indians  for  guides,  on  condi- 
tion that  they  should  return  to  the  mainland  in 
their  own  canoes.  The  Indians  were  glad  to  go 
on  these  terms  and  witness  the  discomfiture  of 
their  enemies.  After  a  week's  voyage  they  fell  in 
with  the  islands,  some  peopled,  others  uninhabited, 
evideutlj  the  Bermudas,'  600  miles  from  Cape 
Hatteras  as  the  crow  flies.  The  Spaniards  landed 
on  an  island  called  Iti,  and  had  a  brisk  fight  with 
a  large  body  of  the  cannibals,  who  defended  them- 
selves manfully,  hut  could  not  withstand  firearms. 
More  than  200  prisoners  were  taken,  seven  of 
whom  were  presented  to  the  seven  Indian  guides. 
Taking  a  laz^e  canoe  from  the  island,  these 
friendly  barbarians  paddled  away  westward,  *' right 
merry  and  marvelling  at  our  power."'     "We  also 

'  See  below,  p,  433. 

*  Wben  tbeie  ialands  ven  TedUcorered  in  1522  the;  were  eH' 
tirely  depopulated,  — an  ioatauce,  no  doubt,  of  the  trightfnl  thor- 
oag;hn««  with  which  the  Spaoiah  hidnappen  finm  HiiipaiuDla  had 
done  tbeir  work  during  the  interval. 

*  "  Seite  temaroDO  allor  term  molto  allqfri,  maraniglia'doai 
delle  noatre  foiis."  If  the;  ever  saooeeded  io  getting  home,  one 
does  not  need  to  be  told  of  the  Inrid  fate  of  the  a^itirea. 


60  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

get  sail  for  Spain,  with  222  prisoners,  slaves;  and 
arrived  in  the  port  of  Cadiz  on  the  15th  day  of 
October,  1498,  where  we  were  well  received  and 
sold  our  slaves.  This  is  what  happened  to  me  in 
this  my  first  voyage  that  may  be  most  worth  tell- 

ing."  > 

The  words  of  Vespucius  are  too  vagae  to  enable 

us,  without  help  from  other  sources,  to  determine 
the  situation  of  that  ^^ finest  harbour  in  the  world," 
where  the  expedition  made  its  last  halt  before 
striking  eastward  into  the  Atlantic.  So  much  de- 
pends upon  the  quantity  of  allowance  to  be  made 
for  tacking  and  for  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast-line, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  say  with  any  confidence  to 
what  point  a  run  of  870  leagues  from  Tampico 
would  have  brought  the  ships.  It  is  clear  that 
they  must  have  sailed  between  Cuba  and  Florida, 
and  must  have  taken  their  final  start  from  some 
point  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  what  is  now  the 
United  States.  The  conditions  of  the  case  seemed 
at  first  to  M.  Vamhagen  to  point  to  the  waters  of 
the  Chesapeake,  but  he  was  afterward  inclined  to 

^  '*  Noi  alsi  facemo  nela  p^  Spagrna  oon  222  prigiqini  schiani :  A 
g^ngnemo  nel  porto  di  CalU  adi  15  doctobre  1498  done  funio  ben 
ricennti  &  nende^mo  nostzi  schiani.  Qnesto  e,  qnello  che  miac- 
ohadde  in  qnesto  mio  primo  niaggio  di  pin  notabile."  Fol.  b.  ii. 
yeiso.  It  vas  a  dreadfnl  nnmber  of  slayes  to  pack  away  in  f onr 
caravels,  and  22  has  been  snggested  as  a  more  probable  figure. 
Perhaps  so ;  mistakes  in  nnmerals  are  easj  and  f reqnent.  The 
annals  of  the  slave  trade,  however,  give  g^wsome  instances  of 
srhat  human  greed  can  do.  **  De  nos  jonis  encore,"  observes  Vam- 
hagen, "  qne  la  traite  des  n^gres  est  presqne  enti^rement  snppri- 
m4e,  nous  avons  vn  aborder  an  Callao,  venant  de  Chine,  dans  nn 
■enl  navire,  qnelqnes  cents  Coolies :  plus  de  la  dixi^me  partie  de 
eet  Coolies  avait  pdri  k  bord,  pendant  le  traven^*' 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  61 

designate  Cape  Canaveral  on  the  Florida  coast  as 
the  final  point  of  departure  for  the  cannibal  islands 
which  apparently  must  have  been  the  Bermudas.^ 
But,  as  Mr.  Hubert  Bancroft  suggests,  it  is  hard 
to  imagine  what  port  near  Cape  CaiSaveral  could 
have  been  called  the  best  harbour  in  the  world,  ex- 
cept  "by  a  navigator  little  famiUar  with  good  har- 
hours/'  I  shall  presently  point  to  some  reasons  for 
believing  that  capes  Charles  and  Ca&iveral  were 
probably  the  northern  and  southern  limits  between 
which  the  final  departure  was  taken.  Meanwhile 
another  and  more  important  question  claims  our 
attention. 

We  have  hitherto  been  considering  only  the 
statements  of  Vespucius  himself  in  an  informal  let- 
ter. It  has  been  urged,  with  reference  to  the  cred- 
ibility of  these  statements,  that  there  is  no  contem- 
porary allusion  whatever  to  such  a  voyage,  either 
in  books  of  history  or  in  archives.^  There  is 
strong  reason  for  believing  that  this  sweeping  as- 
sertion is  far  from  correct,  and  that  con-  _ 

Why  critics 

temporary  allusions  have  not  been  f  oimd  !»»▼«  'ound  no 

'*'  *^  contemporary 

simply   because   scholars    have   soufi^ht  aiiu«ion«to 

1  •        "I  -nr-  T      1     •       *^^  voyage. 

them  m  the  wrong  quarter.    With  their 

backs  turned  upon  Lariab  they  have  been  staring 

^  Yamha^n,  Amerigo  Vespucci^  Lima,  1865,  p.  90,  and  chart 
at  the  end ;  Le  premier  voyage  de  Vespucci^  Vienna,  1809,  p.  30. 

^  **  It  should  firgt  of  all  be  noted  that  the  sole  authority  for  a 
Toyaffe  made  by  Vespucci  in  1407  is  Vespucci  himself.  All  con- 
temporary history,  other  than  his  own  letters  [it  should  be  letter]^ 
is  absolutely  silent  in  regard  to  such  a  voyage,  whether  it  be  his- 
tory in  printed  books,  or  in  the  archives  of  those  kingdoms  of 
Europe  where  the  precious  documents  touching  the  earlier  expe- 
ditions to  the  New  World  were  deposited.*'  S.  H.  Gay,  in  Winsor, 
Narr,  and  Crit.  Hist^  ii.  137. 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBICA. 


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MUNDUS  NOVUS. 


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64  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

at  Paria,  and  might  have  gone  on  staring  to  eter- 
nity without  seeing  what  was  all  the  time  behind 
them.  So,  too,  one  might  look  long  into  narra- 
tives and  archives,  and  look  in  vain  for  a  "voyage 
of  Vespucius,"  for  it  was  customary  to  speak  of  a 
voyage  by  the  name  of  the  commanding  officer, 
and  the  language  of  Vespucius  distinctly  implies 
that  in  this  voyage  of  1497  he  was  not  the  com- 
mander;  he  was  chosen  by  King  Ferdinand  "to  go 
with  the  ships  and  assist  in  the  work  of  discov- 
ery." ^    Let  us,  then,  turn  our  faces  toward  Lariab, 

and  see  if  contemporary  documents 
contemporary   kuow  auythmg  about  a  voyage  mto  the 

gulf  of  Mexico  earlier  than  those  of 
Ocampo  in  1508  and  Ponce  de  Leon  in  1513.  We 
find  at  once  a  remarkable  and  significant  group  of 
allusions,  both  in  narratives  and  in  archives,  to 
such  a  voyage,  imdertaken  by  no  less  a  person  than 
Vicente  Yafiez  Pinzon,  captain  of  the  little  ship 
Niiia  in  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus.  Associated 
with  Pinzon,  and  probably  second  in  command, 
was  another  consiunmate  sailor,  Juan  Diaz  de 
Solis,  who  in  1512  succeedecl  Vespucius  as  pilot 
major  of  Spain.    ^ 

The  date  commonly  assigned  to  this  voyage  of 
Pinion  and  Solis  is  1506.  The  figure  rests  upon 
the  single  unsupported  statement  of  Antonio  de 
Ilerrera,  whose  great  work  was  published  in  1601.* 


^  **  Che  fu,  eh«l  Re  don  Femuido  di  Casti|^li*  haae'do  a 
dure  qnatt-ro  iMui  a  discoprire  Bnove  texre  neno  loocidente  fa> 
•lecto  por  (ran  altetii  che  io  fnni  in  ean  flocta  per  adintue  a  dk- 
coprire.'*     Leitfra^  fol.  a.  iL  i««ta    Varaha^rea.  p.  35. 

'  lien^nk  Hinmria  gmtrtU  4t  lott  kfdtm  de  /at  Castdiamm  m 
lat  iW<M  i  tmrm  jirmt  M  Jfor  Omms  Madrid,  1001,  4  Tob.  n 
qttait(K 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  65 

For  events  that  happened  in  the  tune  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,  this  book  cannot  be  cited  as  of  ori- 
ginal authority.  It  is  a  compilation  of  priceless 
value,  but  not  without  grave  defects.  Mr.  Hubert 
Bancroft  is  quite  right  in  saying  that  we  find  in  it 
"evidences  everywhere  of  inexperience  and  incom- 
petent assistance.  Now  that  we  have  before  us 
many  of  the  sources  of  Herrera's  mate-  Antonio  d« 
rial,  we  can  see  that  his  notes  were  badly  ^**''*^ 
extracted  and  compiled  in  a  bungling  manner;  so 
much  so  that  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  errors, 
from  which  to  some  extent  the  most  carefully  ex- 
ecuted work  cannot  be  expected  to  be  wholly  free, 
there  are  many  and  serious  discrepancies  and  con- 
tradictions for  which  there  is  no  excuse,  the  cause 
being  simply  carelessness."^ 

Now  Herrera  tells  us  that  when  it  had  been 
made  known  in  Castile  what  the  Admiral  had  dis- 
covered afresh,  Pinzon  and  Solis  made  up  their 
minds  to  go  and  further  pursue  the  hu  account  of 
route  which  he  had  taken ;  and  from  the  JoJ^of  pin- 
Guanajos  islands  on  the  northern  coast  ***°  *°*  ^^^ 
of  Honduras  they  sailed  westward  and  passed  the 
Golf o  Dulce  ^  without  seeing  it,  but  they  gave  the 
name  of  Navidad  to  what  is  now  known  as  the  bay 
of  Honduras.  Thence  they  discovered  the  moun- 
tains (or  lands)  of  Carta  and  a  considerable  part  of 
Yucatan.  But  as  there  was  nobody  who  followed 
up  that  discovery^  nothing  more  was  known  about 

^  History  of  Central  America^  San  Francisco,  1882,  toI.  i.  p.  317. 

^  For  the  position  of  the  Golf  o  Dalce,  see  the  map  of  the  region 
aronnd  Tnznlntlan,  helow,  p.  466.  It  is  simply  the  deep  inlet  at 
the  head  of  the  hay  of  Hondotaa. 


66  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

those  coasts  until  the  whole  of  New  Spain  was  dis« 
covered  [in  1517-19]  from  Cuba.  The  principal 
object  of  these  navigators,  Pinzon  and  Solis,  adds 
Ilerrera,  was,  through  a  spirit  of  rivalry  with  the 
Admiral,  to  discover  land  and  to  pass  beyond  what 
he  had  discovered.^ 

^  The  pasta^  in  Herrera  is  Bomewhat  conf  nsed  and  inyolTed, 
from  the  vrrong  connection  in  which  he  jconceived  it ;  but  when 
once  we  have  fathomed  the  confusion  under  which  he  laboured,  it 
is  remarkable  how  nearly  right  he  was  in  the  principal  items  of 
his  statement :  —  "  Sabido  en  Castilla  lo  que  havia  descnbierto  de 
nueyo  el  Almirante,  Juan  Dias  de  Solis  i  Vinoente  Tallez  Pinxoo 
determinaron  de  ir  2i  proseguir  el  camino  que  dejaba  hecho,  i  fne- 
ron  2i  tomar  el  hilo  desde  las  islas  de  los  Gnanajos  i  yolyer  de  ellas 
2i  leyante ;  pero  navegaron  desde  las  dichas  islas  hicia  el  poniente 
hasta  el  parage  de  el  Golf  o  Dnlce,  aunque  no  lo  yieron,  porqne 
estil  eeoondido ;  reeonooieron  la  entrada  que  hace  la  mar  entre  la 
tiarra  que  oonlieue  el  Golfo,  i  la  de  Yucatan  que  es  oomo  una 
grande  enaenada,  6  baia,  que  aai  Uaman  los  marineroa.  .  .  .  T 
eomo  yioron  aquel  rincon  graade  que  hace  la  Har  entre  doa  Tler- 
ras,  la  una  que  wti  2i  la  maao  esqnierda  teniendo  las  espaldas  al 
Oriente,  que  ea  la  casta  que  eontiene  el  Puerto  de  CabaUos,  i  ade- 
laule  de  ^  ol  Golf  o  I>ttlce :  i  la  otra  de  mano  dereeba,  la  costa 
d«l  raiao  de  Incatan,  parecidlea  gran  baia,  i  por  esto  la  Damaron 
la  graa  Baia  de  NaykUd,  dcede  dosNie  deaenbimYMi  las  sierras 
[tierras  ^J  de  Caria :  bolrwitMi  al  Nortel  i  deaeabrierca  mndia 
parte  de  el  reiao  de  Y«vala)a«  pero  coaso  dsspwta  bo  bnyo  aadie, 
que  pruaiigmiiMe  aqu«l  l>Ml^ubrulliM^atc^  bo  ae  sapo  mas.  basta  qua 
m  deeM>bri4>  todo  K>  de  Naeya  Kwpal^a  dwde  la  iila  de  Cnba«  i  estoa 
D^«ftMibrkkNrea  priaeipabneaie  pretewBaB  dMrabrir  tiem  par  eBm- 
laeiMi  dtfl  AUaimates  i  paoar  adelaBte  de  lo  qBe  A  babta  deaen- 
W»«^  '*  (de<N  i  hbw  yi  eap.  IT^^  JhrHtrndiam  bM«  dees  Bot  meaa 
*^preliMMWd."b«l"iu»der«ei^"er*^atte«tpledL"  TWaUasMBto 
si<rr%is  </«  Cuiria  Wa  absa^a  Veeai  felt  t«  W  p«nfiB|:« 
tatt-tfWaa  ar^  kai^vB  yrbW4  il  im»—i  t»  it.  TVs 
ev¥JW4i^  t;^tNk  V^  Hetfwra  Iwa*  FlaaiNkV  BMtHM«y  ib  tb*  Pr^ 
ihkHous^  tik  vbftfcb  gcvHMT  ^evecsd  «Mb»c  anaam  omw  BiHBiyTlfgibie, 
aavb  a*  th«t  vvtMOrW  <4  (UMk^rvNUk  CMudocu.  awi  njattAprvtu  wkkb 
ISukiMMiL  iMiOiift  b»  yiaifted  alWr  tium^  «MKtb«acd  €(«nb.  HibjIbii, 
Wi  w  %bw^  v«  b»x«  a»^  tuiitbin  ebaiw    TW  bifva  vate  obKvwB  «f 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  67 

In  this  statement  Herrera  understands  the  voy- 
age of  Pinzon  and  Soils  to  have  been  consequent 
upon  the  news  of  what  Columbus  had 
discovered  in  his  fourth  voyage  (1502-  the  date 
1504);    and  this  opmion    is    evidently  instead  of 
based  upon  his  interpretation  of  the  tes- 
timony of  Pinzon  himself  and  other  sailors  in  the 
Probanzas.     It  is  a  very  natural  way  in  which  to 
read  that  testimony  if  we  have  nothing  but  the 
text  itself  to  guide  us;  and  if  Herrera  made  a  mis- 
chievous mistake  we  cannot  blame  him.     There 
are  the  strongest  reasons  for  believing  that  he  did 
make  such  a  mistake,  and  that  this  voyage  of  Pin- 
zon and  Solis  was  made,  not  in  consequence  of  the 
fourth  voyage  of  Columbus,  but  in  consequence  of 
the  news  of  what  he  had  discovered  in  1494  in  the 
course  of  his  second  voyage. 

In  the  first  place  the  evidence  collected  by  Na- 
varrete  seems  to  prove  conclusively  that  Pinzon  did 
not  go  upon  any  voyage  of  discovery  between  the 
end  of  the  year  1504  and  June  29, 1508.  pin«mdid  not 
A  voyage  for  him  was  indeed  contem-  ^^^^ 
plated  as  early  as  February  or  April,  *®^ 
1505,  but  it  was  not  a  voyage  in  the  direction  of 
Honduras,  nor  had  it  any  reference  to  the  fourth 
voyage  of  Columbus.  On  the  contrary,  as  we 
shall  hereafter  see,  it  was  a  direct  consequence  of 
the  fourth  voyage  of  Vespucius.     Its  object  was 

80  many  names  known  to  the  first  navigators  is  jost  what  we  might 
expect  in  the  case  of  a  voyage  which  was  not  followed  np  for 
twenty  years  (cf.  Nos.  3,  25,  26  in  my  tahle  of  voyages).  We  shaU 
presently  have  a  similar  illustration  in  the  names  upon  a  part  of 
the  Cantino  map. 


68  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

the  further  exploration  of  the  Brazilian  coast  aonth 
of  the  tropic  of  Capricorn,  and  while  it  was  planned 
early  in  1505,  the  fear  of  complications  with  Por- 
tugal prevented  such  an  expedition  from  sailing 
until  the  summer  of  1508.  During  that  interval 
we  keep  coming  upon  documents  that  prove  the 
presence  of  Pinzon  in  Spain ;  and  it  is  not  for  a 
moment  to  be  supposed  that  while  thus  concerned 
in  this  enterprise  he  could  have  been  at  the  same 
time  engaged  in  a  long  voyage  into  the  gulf  of 
Mexico.^  We  have  no  alternative  but  to  suppose 
that  Herrera's  date  of  1506  for  Pinzon's  Honduras 
voyage  is  a  mistake,  and  that  he  ought  to  have 
made  it  consequent,  not  upon  the  fourth,  but  upon 
the  second,  voyage  of  Columbus. 

It  was  all  the  more  easy  to  make  such  a  mistake 
since  the  farthest  point  reached  by  Columbus  upon 
the  southern  coast  of  Cuba  in  June,  1494,  was  not 
far  from  the  pomt  whence  he  crossed  from  Cuba 
to   Honduras   in  July,    1503.     If    he  had  kept 


^  We  find  Pinion  in  Spain  receiving  a  payment  of  10,000 
Tedis,  Febniary  28, 1505  (Navanete,  ColeccioiL,  iiL  112)  ;  he  is  ap- 
pointed to  command  a  f  ortreaa  in  San  Juan  de  Porto  Rico,  BCardi 
14,  1506  (iii.  112) ;  the  king  wishes  to  consult  with  Pinzon  and 
Yespncina  about  a  projected  Tojage,  Maj  17, 1505  (iii.  302)  ;  Pin- 
ion wants  a  lawsoit  settled,  as  it  is  hindering  his  departure  on 
a  voyage,  September  28,  1505  (iii.  113) ;  he  is  in  Spun,  bnsy  on 
work  on  which  he  has  evidently  been  engaged  for  a  good  while, 
August  23,  1506  (iiL  2^) ;  on  September  15, 1506,  the  offieefs  of 
the  Casa  de  la  Contratacion  inform  the  king  that  the  expedition 
wiU  not  be  aUe  to  sail  before  February,  1507  (iiL  321) ;  by  that 
time  the  growl  from  Portugal  has  become  so  audible  that  the 
•xpeditioii  is  for  the  time  abandoned  and  the  ships  used  for 
olhfsr  psrpoMS  (itf.).  These  documents  evidently  relate  to  one 
wmi  tt»  wnt  Toyag*,  and  they  leave  no  place  for  a  vovage  ts 
a»  f«lf  of  Maziea 


MUNDUS  NOVVS.  69 

gtralght  ahead  in  the  former  voji^  and  left  the 
coast  of  Cuba,  he  would  have  crossed  to  Honduras 
very  much  as  in  the  latter  voyage.  It  is  not 
strange,  then,  that  in  the  mind  of  Herrera,  as  per- 
haps even  in  the  report  of  the  Probanzas  upon 
which  Herrera  seems  to  have  relied,  the  two  voy- 
ages should  have  got  more  or  less  mixed  together. 
Assuming,  then,  that  Pinzon's  first  voyage  was 
consequent  upon  news  received  from  Columbus  in 
1494,  and  that  it  was  the  voyage  upon  which 
Vespucius  describes  himself  as  having  sailed  in 
May,  1497,  we  can  understand  sundry  statements 
in  early  historians  of  the  Discovery,  that  have 
heretofore  been  unintelligible.  Peter  Twtimonyof 
Martyr,  in  a  passage  written  Uiove  ^^'^^- 
1508,  says:  —  "For  there  are  many  which  affirme 
that  they  haue  sayled  rownd  abowt  Cuba.  But 
whether  it  bee  so  or  not,  or  whether  enuyinge  the 
good  fortune  of  this  man  [Columbus]  they  seeke 
occasions  of  querelinge  ageynste  hym,  I  cannot 
judge.  But  tyme  shall  speake,  which  in  tyme  ap- 
poynted,  reuealeth  both  truth  and  falsehod."  ^  In 
another  place  Martyr  says  that  Vicente  Yafiez 
sailed  about  Cuba,  which  had  hitherto,  because  of 
its  great  size,  been  regarded  as  continent;  and 
having  found  that  this  is  an  island,  he  went  on  and 
struck  upon  other  lands  to  the  west  of  it.^    Again 

^  "  Neqne  enim  desnnt  qui  se  oircnisse  Cnbam  andeant  dioere. 
An  hflBc  ita  siiit,  an  invidia  tanti  inventi  occasiones  quserant  in 
hnnc  Tinun,  non  dijadico:  tempna  loqnetnr,  in  qao  yerus  judex 
inrigilat.*'  Martyr,  dec.  i.  lib.  vi.  Aa  Humboldt  says,  this  last 
clause  shows  conclusively  that  the  passage  was  written  before 
Ocampo^s  voyage  in  1508. 

*  **  VicentiuB  Annez  .  .  .  Cnbam,  a  multis  ad  ea  xisqne  tem- 


70  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Gomara  says  that  three  years  before  Columboa 
visited  the  coast  of  Honduras  that  coast 

Testimony  of      ,      j  v  j  •  j  i       t%»  j    o 

Gomara  and  had  been  discovcrcd  by  r'mzon  and  do- 
"^-"^  Us.^     Gomara'8  three  years  should  he 

five,  but  the  main  fact  is  the  fact  of  priority,  which 
is  again  expressly  aflBrmed  by  Oviedo  (in  1526- 
•35):  —  "Some  persons  have  attributed  the  discov- 
ery of  the  bay  of  Honduras  to  Don  Christopher 
Columbus,  the  first  Admiral,  saying  that  he  dis- 
covered it.  But  that  is  not  true ;  for  it  was  discov- 
ered by  the  pilots  Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon,  Juan 
Diaz  de  Solis,  and  Pedro  de  Ledesma,  with  three 
caravels,  and  that  was  before  Vicente  Ya^ez  had 
discovered  the  river  Amazon,"^  in  other  words, 
before  January,  1500.  This  explicit  and  definite 
testimony  from  a  contemporary  first-hand  author- 
ity  is  not  lightly  to  be  set  aside. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  Oviedo,  Gomara, 
Martyr,  Herrera,  and  the  witnesses  in  the  tenth 
section  of  the  Probanzas,  in  their  various  refer- 

pora  ob  snam  magmtndinem  continentem  pntatam,  circniyit.  .  .  • 
Vicentios  Annez  cognito  jam  ezperimento  patent!  Cnbain  esse  in- 
■nlam,  prooesat  ultexins  et  terras  alias  ad  ocoidentem  CubsB  offen- 
dit."    Id,f  dec.  iL  lib.  yii. 

^  "Descnbri6  Christoual  Colon  treziStas  y  setSfta  leg^as  de 
oosta,  que  ponen  de  rio  gprande  de  Higueras  al  NSbre  de  Dies,  el 
alio  de  mil  y  qninientos  y  doe ;  dizen  empero  alg^nnos  ([  tres  afioa 
ante  lo  anian  andado  Vicente  Taftez  Pinzon  y  Juan  Diaa  d^  £bB% 
([  fueron  gxandissimos  descnbridores."  QoMBa,  Historia  general 
de  las  Indicu,  Antwerp,  1554,  eap.  It.  fol.  63  recto. 

^  **Algunos  atribnyen  al  Almirante  primero,  Don  Cbxistoyal 
Colon,  dioiendo  que  A  lo  descabri6.  Y  no  es  as! ;  porqne  el  golfo 
de  Higneras  lo  desonbrieron  los  pilotos  Vicente  Yaftez  Pinzon  4 
Johan  Diaz  de  Solis  4  Pedro  de  Ledesma,  con  tres  oaravelas,  antes 
que  el  Vicente  Yafiez  descnbriese  el  rio  Marafton.''  Oviedo,  fltt* 
Utria  f/enenU  de  lag  htdiat,  Madrid,  1851,  torn.  ii.  p.  140. 


MUNDUS  NOVVS.  71 

encea  to  the  voy^e  of  Finzon  and  Solis,  are  aJl 
referring  to  the  first  voyage  described  by  Vespu- 
cins  in  bis  letter  to  Sctderini,  —  a  voyage  which 
achieved  the  first  discovery  of  Honduras,  with 
parta  of  the  coasts  of  Mexico  and  Florida,  and 
which  first  revealed  to  some  persons  the  insularity 
of  Cuba.  Here  the  map  made  in  1500  by  La  Cosa 
becomes  quite  interesting.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  this  able  navigator  was  with  Columbus 
on  that  memorable  occasion  in  June,  1494,  when 
all  hands  solemnly  subscribed  to  the  belief  that 
Cuba  was  part  of  the  Asiatic  continent.'  On  that 
I  Tliii  aSaiF,  BO  grotesqaa  according  to  modem  notioiu,  Ii  nm- 
ally  DUErepmeDted ;  «■  K-  "  Colnmbus  Tojaged  for  India,  thought 
hii  fint  Undiiq'  vl£  there,  and  toned  hia  crew  to  swear  tliej 
thonght  so  too  by  threatening  to  cnt  out  their  tongues.' '  (Prof. 
J.  D.  Bnder,  in  a  ver^  raeiitoriauB  paper  on  ' '  The  Nanung  of 
America,"  in  TrantactioTa  of  WiKOiain  AcaJakji  of  Scitaru, 
1874,  loL  ii  pp.  203-210.)  The  pawsge  in  Henry  SteTens'a  HiH. 
and  Geog.  Sola,  p.  12,  to  which  the  writer  retera,  does  not  justify 
■ueh  a  statement.  Stevens  simply  says  "  earned  his  captains,  hi* 
pilots,  hia  master  of  oharts  [La  Cosa],  and  all  bis  lailors  to  sign  a 
dedaiBtion  under  oath,  that  they  believed  Caba  to  be  part  of  the 
eootinent  of  Ana  near  Mai^"  Ilie  notary's  original  docnment, 
pmerred  in  the  ArohiTes  of  the  Tndieii  at  SeviilD  {printed  in  Na- 
*aneta,tom.  iL  pp.  143-140),  does  not  indicate  that  in  this  "cans- 
ii^  "  there  «as  either  any  force  or  any  threat  used.  Tbe  offioera 
and  men  vere  asked  bo  state  their  dissenting  -rif-iit  if  they  had 
any.  Nobody  seems  to  have  bad  any,  and  there  is  no  reason  for 
Bnppoaing  tbat  anybody  signed  the  declaration  reluctantly.  Tbe 
formal  prondon,  that  if  any  ons  should  afterrard  deny  that  on 
this  occasion  he  bad  expressed  tbe  opinion  written  down  in  the 
document  he  shanld  hate  the  tip  of  his  tongue  sUt  (as  was  often 
done  to  liars),  was  simply  a  bit  of  gennine  meditBTalisra,  abonC 
eqaiTslent  to  tbe  solemn  imprecations  of  modem  children  :  "Hnck 
Rnn  and  Tom  Sawyer  wiahea  they  may  drop  down  dead  in  their 
tracks  if  they  ever  tell  of  this  and  rot,"  as  Mark  Twun  so 
faithfully  puts  it.  For  the  owlish  gravity  with  which  some  mod- 
em writen  ue  this  ioddsnt  b  avidMN*  of  the  Admiral'i  alleged 


72  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA, 

occasion,  La  Cosa  declared  that  he  had  never  heard 

of  an  island  with  835  leagues  length  of  coast  from 

east  to  west,  and  that  from  the  contour 

Cubarepre-  -     ,  .  -it  .  i 

aentc^Man     qi  this  coast,  as  wcll  as  its  apparently 

iaiand  on  La  ,  *  *  •' 

cwj'am^,  interminable  length,  he  had  no  sort  of 
doubt  that  it  was  the  mainland.  We 
have  no  reason  for  supposing  that  La  Cosa  did  not 
mean  precisely  what  he  said.  Yet  upon  his  famous 
map,  of  which  a  sketch  is  prefixed  to  the  present 
volume,  Cuba  is  distinctly  represented  as  an  is- 
land. On  the  north  of  it  the  left-hand  flagstaff 
marks  the  westernmost  point  reached  by  Columbus 
and  La  Cosa  in  1492;  on  the  south  we  read  (7. 
Bien  Espera^  the  "Cape  of  Good  Hope"  where 
in  1494  La  Cosa  and  his  comrades  all  testified  that 
to  the  best  of  their  knowledge  and  belief  they  were 
on  the  coast  of  Asia;  and  just  to  the  south  of  this 
cape  we  see  a  few  small  islands  whereimto  the 
map-maker's  fancy  has  added  a  goodly  archipelago 
of  bigger  ones.  The  shore  on  the  west  of  these 
islands  Columbus  called  Evangelista,  deeming  it 
"fraught  with  good  tidings"  for  him  when  he 
should  come  that  way  again.  On  the  map  we  see 
"  Abangelista,"  albeit  written  too  far  to  the  west. 
#  Then  Cuba  is  terminated  by  a  western  coast-line 
all  the  way  aroimd  from  the  archipelago  to  the  flag- 
staff, —  a  coast-line  which,  as  even  an  unpractised 
eye  may  see,  is  drawn  not  from  exploration,  but 
from  theory  or  from  hearsay.    On  the  original  map 

"  deoeitf Illness  '*  and  woakness  of  chmraoter,  the  proper  answer  ki 
ft  peal  of  Homeric  langliter.  I  hare  described  the  affair  abore, 
ToL  i.  pp.  476,  477,  with  as  mnoh  serioosness  as  I  think  it  da- 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  78 

this  western  coast-line  is  abruptly  cut  off  with  a 
dash  of  green  paint.^  This  means  to  my  mind 
that  when  La  Cosa  drew  the  map,  between  June 
and  October,  1500,  he  had  been  informed  of,  or 
brought*  to  believe  in,  the  insularity  of  Cuba,  but 
had  not  seen  a  chart  of  its  western  extremity. 
Where  did  he  get  his  information?  The  answer 
is  obvious.  He  had  just  returned  from  that  voy- 
age on  the  Pearl  Coast  with  Ojeda  (the  second  voy- 
age of  Vespucius)  in  which  he  and  Vespucius  were 
associated  as  pilots.  Evidently  the  latter  had  told 
him  of  the  discovery  of  a  passage  between  Cuba 
and  the  mainland  two  years  before,  but  had  not 
shown  him  his  charts,  which  very  likely  were  then 
in  the  hands  of  Bishop  Fonseca.  Hence  it  ap- 
pears that  the  continental  coast-line  opposite  Cuba 
was  drawn  not  wholly  from  theory,  but  partly  from 
hearsay.  The  protruding  land  at  the  words  ^^Mar 
Oceanuz "  and  below  may  indicate  that  La  Cosa 

1  Hence  tlie  late  Henry  Stevens  suggested  that  La  Cosa  did  not 
intend  to  be  understood  as  representing  Cuba  as  an  island,  bnt 
only  meant  to  show  that  his  own  definite  knowledge  did  not  g^ 
beyond  the  archipelago  on  the  south  and  the  flagstaff  on  the 
north.  (Historical  and  Gtographiccd  NoteSy  London,  1869,  p.  18.) 
But  if  that  was  all  that  he  meant  to  show,  why  did  he  separate 
Cnba  from  the  mainland  at  all  ?  The  mere  fact  of  the  separa- 
tion indicates  a  knowledge  of  something  to  the  west  of  **  Abang^ 
lista,**  though  confessedly  a  dim  knowledge.  At  least  it  indicates 
a  decided  change  of  opinion  since  1494 ;  otherwise  La  Cosa  would 
not  only  have  made  the  western  end  of  Cuba  flare  like  the  outline 
of  a  trumpet,  but  beyond  the  flagstaff  it  would  have  trended 
strongly  to  the  northward  and  become  continuous  with  the  main- 
land. At  the  archipelago  it  would  have  been  prolonged  indefi- 
nitely to  the  southwest,  and  there  would  have  been  nothing  of 
that  vague  but  unmistakable  suggestion  of  the  gpilf  of  Mexico 
which  La  Cosa  cannot  have  got  from  any  other  source  than  the 
first  voyage  of  Vespucius. 


74  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

had  lieard  something  about  Florida,  but  haYing  no 
drawings  to  guide  him,  had  pictured  it  to  himself 
as  a  big  promontory  rather  than  a  peninsula. 

The  striking  suggertion  ihas  afforded  by  Hie  map 
of  La  Cosa  is  confirmed  with  overwhelming  force 
by  that  of  Alberto  Cantino  already  mentioned  in 
TbeCantfaio  ooMi6ction  with  the  voyages  of  the 
map,  1602.  brothcrs  Cortereal.  This  map  was  made 
in  Portugal  by  some  cartographer  unknown,  at  the 
order  of  Alberto  Cantino,  who  carried  it  to  Italy 
in  the  autumn  of  1502,  and  sent  it  to  Ercole 
d'  Este,  Duke  of  Ferrara.  It  had  reached  the 
duke,  or  was  on  its  way  to  him,  November  19, 
1502,  as  we  know  from  Cantino's  letter  of  that 
date  written  at  Bome.  It  has  been  carefully  pre- 
served, and  since  1868  has  been  accessible  in  the 
Biblioteca  Estense  at  Modena;  but  it  is  only 
within  the  past  ten  years  that  scholars  have  be* 

The  Cantino  map,^  which  gives  both  Hayti  and 
Cuba,  not  only  represents  the  latter  as  an  island, 
whAt  It  terminated  on  the  west  by  a  hypothetical 

SSJS^**^  coast,  but  goes  on  to  depict  a  consider- 
pioridm.  j^jjjg  portion  of  the  coast-line  of  the 

United  States,  including  both  sides  of  the  peninsula 

^  A  sketch  flhowing^  the  relatiTe  podtioos  wm  g^Ten  above  on 
page  21.  This  sketch  of  the  Florida  coasts  I  have  copied  from 
the  f uU-sized  facnmile  published  in  1883  by  M.  Harrisse,  and  hare 
taken  pains  to  reproduce  with  accuracy  the  details  of  the  coast- 
line. Off  the  southwestern  coast  the  original  has  a  group  of  islands 
which  I  have  omitted  in  order  to  get  room  for  the  names.  One 
cannot  do  all  that  one  wonld  like  on  so  small  a  page.  These 
islands  may  be  seen  on  the  other  sketch  just  mentioned.  On  the 
original  map  the  coasts  end  abruptly  just  where  they  touch  my 
border,  at  "Rio  de  las  Pahnas"  and  '' CosU  del  Mar  Y^ana'' 


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76  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

m 

of  Florida,  and  all  this  is  depicted  as  a  visited  coast, 
with  sundry  details  of  bay  and  headland,  npon 
which  are  placed  twenty-two  local  names.  A  few 
of  these  names  have  been  distorted  beyond  recog- 
nition by  the  Portuguese  draughtsman,  but  their 
original  form  is  unquestionably  Spanish  and  not 
Portuguese.  The  names  furnish  absolute  proof 
that  tliis  part  of  the  map  was  copied  from  a  Span- 
ish map  ^  by  a  person  not  familiar  with  S{)anish, 
and  f  urtliermore  that  this  copyist  was  a  Portuguese. 
Those  names,  like  fossils  from  an  age  extinct,  are 
elcHiuent  in  their  silence.  As  I  shall  presently 
diow,  thoy  had  ceased  to  be  understood  before  thB 
nnlisiH^wry  of  Florida  by  Ponce  de  Leon  in  1513; 
t)io  continuity  of  tradition  was  broken  off  short. 
All  this  moans  that  this  portion  of  the  United 
Statks  ci>ast  was  visited  and  mapped  by  Span- 
ish MARINERS  before  No VEMRER,  1502,  AND  THAT 
THE  VOYAGE  IN  WHICH  THIS  WAS  DONE  WAS  NOT 
F\n.I,OWKl>  IT. 

It  i»  not  imly  oloar  that  the  Cantino  map  was 
«H>)^od  or  oiunpiUni  f  nwi  an  older  Spanish  map  or 
uui)va:  if  iji  «dA>  oloar  that  it  was  not  based  upon 
ih^  \%vik\\  %\{  I^  i\v«ji^  but  u}HW  dcoie  entirely  dif- 
it^rom  aiill^vrily.  V\\r  ui^mdi  tlie  northern  coast  of 
^mlh  AwoJTH^  wh^nt^  La  C«ai  has  fortv-five 
i^4U«H>«^  ai^)  l^Mlli)H>  iwvintT-iuiie*  onhr  three  of 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  77 

these  names  agree  on  the  two  maps.  It  therefore 
appears  that  the  Cantino  map,  while  it  represents 
knowledge  gained  at  some  length  of  time  before  the 
autumn  of  1502,  also  gives  testimony  that  is  inde* 
pendent,  and  not  a  mere  repetition  of  the  testimony 
of  La  Cosa. 

It  is  worth  our  while  here  to  follow  out  a  little 
further  some  of  the  relations  of  this  map  to  the 
^graphy  of  that  time.    The  origin^  ^^^^ 
from  which  it  was  made  exercised  much  i«''»  n»*p. «» 

Tabula  Terre 

more  influence  than  that  of  La  Cosa,  ^^«»°»i» 

'    before  1608. 

which  does  not  seem  to  have  been  en- 
graved or  extensively  copied.     In  the  edition  of 
Ptolemy  published  at  Strasburg  in  1513  there  is 
a  remarkable  map,  made  before  1508  ^  by  Martin 

1  "Charta  antem  Marina,  qnam  Hydrographiam  yocant,  per 
AdnunJem  qaondam  serenisBimi  PortngaU*  [CastelliB  ?]  regis 
Ferdinandi,  c»text)8  denique  lustratores  yeriasimis  peragrationi- 
bus  Instrata :  ministerio  Renati  dam  Tiadt,  nuiio  pie  mortui  Dncis 
iUnstrisBimi  Lotharingiie  liberius  pnelog^phadoni  tradita  est," 
etc.,  anglice,  "  The  sailing  chart,  or  Hydrography,  as  it  is  called, 
rectified  by  means  of  Tery  exact  navigations  made  by  a  former 
Admiral  of  the  most  g^racions  King  Ferdinand  of  Portugal  [Cas- 
tile ?],  and  thereafter  by  other  explorers,  was  liberally  given  to  be 
engraved  by  the  care  cf  the  most  illnstrions  Ren^,  in  his  lifetime 
Doke  of  Lorraine,  now  deceased,'*  etc.  Avezac,  Martin  WcUtze- 
mulier,  p.  153;  cf.  Lelewel,  Giographie  du  Moyen  Age,  tom.  iL 
pp.  157-160;  Humboldt,  Examen  critique,  tom.  iv.  p.  100.  A» 
Ren^  died  in  1506,  this  is  perhaps  the  earliest  engraved  map  no^ 
extant  showing  portions  of  America,  thongh  the  map  made  by 
Johann  Rnysch  and  published  in  the  edition  of  Ptolemy  issued  at 
Rome,  August  13,  1508  (see  below,  p.  114),  may  have  been  en- 
grraved  earlier.  The  Waldseemiiller  map,  known  by  its  title 
Tabula  Terre  Nove,  seems  to  have  been  made  after  an  original 
chart  obtained  from  Portug^  by  Duke  Ren^  in  1504  (see  Har- 
risse,  Bibliotheca  Americana  Vetustissima,  p.  108).  The  "  former 
Admiral"  above  mentioned  is  probably  Columbus,  and  calling 
Ferdinand  **king  of  Portugal'^  was  a  mere  slip  of  the  i>en.    It 


78 


THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 


Waldseemiiller,  a  geographer  of  wbom  we  shall 
have  more  to  say  hereafter.  This  map,  known  as 
Tabula  Terre  Ncroe^  has  been  a  puzzle  to  scholars, 
but  a  long  step  is  taken  toward  understanding  it 
when  we  learn  that  it  was  made  from  an  origimJ 
chart  which  found  its  way  from  Portugal  into  Lor- 
xaine  in  1504,  and  when  we  furthermore  see  that 
this  original  must  have  been  the  same  that  was  fol- 
lowed by  Cantino's  draughtsman.  This  is  proved 
by  the  identity  in  names,  of  which  the  following 
list,  containing  all  the  names  upon  the  Florida 
coasts,  is  sufficiently  striking :  — 


OAxmo. 


R/o  do  1m  palmas, 

riodooomo, 

0.  arlear, 

O.  do  lurcor, 

C.  do  mortinbo, 

0.  lurcar, 

el  golfo  b«TO, 

G.  do  flm  do  abrOl, 

oomejo. 

Bio  de  do  die^, 

C.  del  gato, 

paURoize, 

Rio  de  1m  alnudias, 

Cabo  Santo, 

Rio  de  loe  largartos, 

iMcabras, 

lago  lancor, 

Coeta  alta, 

Cabo  de  boa  ventora, 

C^uiMire. 

Cabo  d.  licota, 

Coeta  del  mar  Tfano, 


TABULA  TSRBS  HOYB. 


I 


laffo  de  loro, 
Ru>  de  la  parmas, 

rio  de  como, 

C.  arlear, 
O.  dolivor, 

C.  Inrcar, 

C.  dofllm  de  abril, 
comello, 

C.  de  lago, 

ponta  royal, 

rio  de  Im  amadlM, 

G.  Santo, 

rio  de  loa  garlartoa, 

lacablM? 

lago  luncor, 

Coeta  alia, 

C.  de  boiianentura, 

Canmor, 

C.  del  itontir, 

C.  del  mar  uaiano, 


parrot  lake, 
river  of  palms. 
(  dogwood  rlTsr  f  I 

( r.  corvOf  crow  riTer  7  { 
? 
T 
? 

r 
? 

cape  of  the  end  of  AprtL 

dogwood? 

river  of  Don  Diego. 

cape  of  the  cat. 
(red  point?  ) 

(  p.  irayza,^  low  pobt  ?  | 

rirer  of  canoea. 

holy  cape. 

river  of  lixardo,  or  aUigatan. 
? 

1.  Ivengot  long  lagoon  7 

high  coMt. 

cape  of  good  fortune. 
? 

C.  del  encontrOf^  cape  of  meeting  T 


has  often  been  called  "The  Admiral^s  Map,"  but  that  phrase 
is  xnialeadinif.  It  represents,  as  the  editors  say,  the  results  of 
Toyages  made  by  Columbus,  **and  thereafter  by  other  explor- 
ers; "  but  it  is  not  likely  that  it  emanated  from  Columbus.  It 
leads  us  much  more  directly  back  to  Vespucins. 

^  I  am  indebted  for  these  two  suggestions  to  M.  HairiaM,  X«s 
CorU'Real,  pp.  89,  00. 


MUXDUS  NOVUS.  19 

Of  the  twenty-two  names  on  Cantino's  coasts  of 
Florida,  nineteen  are  thus  repeated  in  the  later 
map.  OriginaUj  Spanish,  these  names  have  on 
the  Portuguese  map  in  a  few  instances  n^^ 
been  deformed  beyond  recognition;  on  ^^SP 
the  Lorraine  map  the  deformity  is  gener-  ^?^  b^ 
ally  earned  a  little  farther,  as  we  might 
expect.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  so  far  as  the 
delineation  of  Florida  is  concerned,  the  two  maps 
are  drawn  from  the  same  source.  Observe  the  con- 
clusions to  which  this  fact  carries  us.  As  the  his« 
toiy  of  the  Discoyery  of  America  has  usually  been 
written,  Florida  was  first  yisited  by  Ponce  de  Leon 
on  Easter  Sunday,  1512 ;  and  a  superficial  observer 
might  not  be  surprised  at  seeing  the  Florida  coasts 
laid  down  on  a  map  first  published  in  1513 ;  per- 
haps, too,  it  might  not  occur  to  him  that  the  pecul- 
iar names  on  these  coasts  are  not  derived  from  the 
explorations  that  began  with  Ponce  de  Leon.  But 
now,  while  on  the  one  hand  it  has  lately  been 
proved  that  Ponce  de  Leon  did  not  see  Florida 
until  Easter  Sunday,  1513,^  on  the  other  hand  the 
map  of  the  1513  Ptolemy  was  certainly  made  before 
1508,  and  the  comparison  ¥rith  the  Cantino  map 
proves  it  to  have  been  drawn  from  an  original  as 
old  as  1502,  and  probably  older.  It  follows,  there- 
fore, with  the  force  of  absolute  demonstration,  that 
the  coasts  of  Florida  were  explored  and  the  insu- 
larity of  Cuba  detected  before  1502.  There  is  no 
possible  escape  from  this  conclusion. 

1  See  Percliel,  Getekickte  des  Zeitalters  der  Entdeckungen,  p.  521 ; 
Kohl,  in  Documentary  History  of  Maine^  toI.  i.  p.  240 ;  Winsor, 
Narr.  and  Crit.  Hitt,,  ii  283. 


m  THE  DISCOVEBT  OF  AMERICA^ 

Bat  tins  IS  not  the  wlvde  stotj.     Oar  faciB  show 
iliat  while  Florida  was  Tisited  at  that  euAj  date, 
and  while  for  the  moment  the  discoTeiy 


tographers  at  least,  to  leaTe  its  indelible 
impressioa  npcm  more  than  one  map,  neTertheless 
it  soon  ceased  to  occnpj  attention  and  became  f or* 
gotten,  so  that  the  names  it  left  behind  became  a 
sooroe  of  worry  and  confusion  for  map-makers. 
Because  Florida  (as  jet  without  a  name)  purported 
to  be  a  piece  of  continent,  and  because  until  after 
1508  most  people  believed  Cuba  to  be  a  piece  o£ 
continent,  the  old  maps  used  to  mix  them  together 
without  rhyme  or  reason;  and  the  perplexity  was 
increased  by  the  fact  that  the  true  Cuba  was  often 
called  Isabella.     Sometimes  the  island  appeared 
under  the  latter  designation,  while  the  name  Cuba 
was  placed  upon  the  Florida  peninsula;  sometimes 
the  two  were  fused  into  one,  because  while  geogra- 
phers found  both  countries  mentioned  or  drawn 
upon  maps,  they  knew  only  of  the  one  as  being 
actually  visited,  and  hence  tried  to  correct  the  ap- 
parent error.     For  example,  in  Johann  Buysch's 
map,  1508,  to  the  west  of  Hispaniola  we  see  an 
iHland  abruptly  cut  off  with  the  scroll  marked  C, 
upon  which  is  the  legend,  ^Hhe  ships  of  Ferdinand, 
king  of  Spain,  have  come  as  far  as  here."  ^    Now 
this  might  be  meant  for  Cuba,  and  the  two  ends 
of  the  scroll  might  be  intended  to  mark  the  two 
farthest  points  reached  by  Columbus  in  1492  and 
1494;  or  it  may  be  meant  for  Florida,  partially 
capsized, — an  accident  not  imcommon   in  early 

^  See  below,  p.  114. 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  81 

maps, — and  the  scroll  may  simply  show  what 
Ruysch  was  able  to  gather  from  the  original  of 
the  Cantino  map.  That  the  latter  is  probably  the 
true  explanation  is  indicated  by  the  names :  ^  —  at 
the  eastern  point  we  have  (7.  de  Fundahril^  and, 
going  thence  to  the  right,  Corveo  (for  Com^o) 
and  C.  Elicontii  (for  (7.  de  Ucontu);  going  to  the 
left,  we  have  Culcar  (for  C  arlear)  and  then 
Lago  del  Oro.  This  seems  to  show  what  Euysch 
had  in  mind.  On  the  other  hand,  on  Stobnicza's 
map,  1512,  which  was  in  part  derived  from  the 
Cantino  source,  we  see  the  islands  of  ^'Spagnolla" 
and  ''Isabella"  rudely  drawn  in  much  the  same 
outline  as  in  the  Tabula  Terre  Nove^  but  the  name 
''Isabella"  has  taken  refuge  upon  the  mainland.^ 

These  examples  show  that  the  geographers  of 
that  time  had  more  facts  set  before  them  than  they 
were  able  to  assimilate.     In   some  directions  a 
steady  succession  of  voya^s  served  to 
correct  imperfections  in  theory  and  to  weretbnt 
attach  certain  names  permanently  to  cer- 
tain localities.     But  the  facts  relating  to  the  gulf 
of  Mexico  [and  Florida  remained  indigestible  be- 
cause from  fifteen  to  twenty  years  elapsed  before 
the  earliest  voyage  in  those  waters  was  followed 
up  and  the  first  crude  impressions  made  definite. 
The  names  applied  to  those  coasts  soon  sank  into 
oblivion,  and  when  the  actors  in  that  generation 
had  all  passed  from  the  scene,  the  very  memory  of 
the  voyage  itself  was  lost,  the  maps  which  it  in- 

^  There  is  not  room  enough  for  them  on  my  reduced  sketch  of 
this  map. 

'  See  below,  p.  178. 


82  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

spired  slept  unheeded  in  the  gloom  of  great 
ries,  the  only  literaiy  document  describing  it  was 
wrongly  referred  to  a  very  different  Yoyage,  and  the 
illustrious  writer  of  that  document  became  the  tar- 
get for  all  manner  of  ignorant  abuse. 

There  is  little  room  for  doubt  that  the  first  voy- 
age of  Yespucius  was  made  just  as  he  describes  it 
_  .  in  his  own  sea-farin&r  dialect.     No  other 

The  voyage  of  ,  "  , 

Jms^^^     source  is  known  from  which  those  Flor- 

1497-98  Ib  the 

only  voyage     ida  coasts,  dcpictcd  with  their  long-for- 

on  record  that  »         x-  r>t         • 

^fi^the     eotten  names  upon    the   Cantino   and 

CaxKono  map.     *-'  -*-  , 

Waldseemiiller  maps,  can  possibly  have 
come.  We  must  either  admit  that  Americus  Yes- 
pucius circumnavigated  the  Florida  peninsula  be- 
fore 1502,  or  we  must  invent  some  voyage,  never 
heard  of  and  never  mentioned  by  anybody,  in  which 
that  thing  was  done ;  and  as  the  latter  alternative 
is  not  likely  to  commend  itself  to  sensible  minds, 
we  are  driven  to  the  former.^     But  if  Yespucius 

^  "  De  tontes  les  exp^ditionfl  inaritmi«9S  dn  zv*  si^e,  oelld-ei 
[the  first  voyage  of  Vespnciiis]  est  la  senle  qui  cadre  avec  les  oon- 
figurations  g^ographiques  que  Ton  relive  sor  la  carte  de  Cantina*' 
Harrisae,  Les  Corte-Jteal,  p.  107.  In  a  footnote  to  this  passage 
M.  Harrisse  is  strongly  tempted  to  belieye  that  the  Portngneed 
map  which  Peter  Martyr  saw  in  Bishop  Fonaeca^s  office,  '*  where- 
onto  Americus  Vesputius  is  sayde  to  have  put  his  hande/'  was  the 
rery  prototype  of  the  map  made  in  Lisbon  for  Cantino.  Yet 
M.  Harrisse  finds  a  difficulty  in  supponng  that  the  voyage  which 
inspired  the  Cantino  map  was  made  before  1500.  If  it  had  been, 
he  thinks  the  Florida  coasts  would  hare  been  delineated  and 
studded  with  names  on  La  Cosa^s  map.  Since  La  Cosa,  when  he 
made  his  map,  had  just  been  for  a  year  in  company  with  Yespu- 
cius, why  had  not  the  latter  put  him  in  possession  of  all  the  facts 
recorded  upon  the  Cantino  map,  if  he  knew  them  ?  To  M.  Har- 
risse this  difficulty  seems  so  formidable  that  he  is  actually  dis* 
posed  to  invent  a  voyage  between  1500  and  1502  in  order  to  account 
for  the  Cantino  map  I    Les  CorU-Beal,  p.  151*    To  my  mind  the 


MUXDUS  NOVVS.  83 

made  this  voyage  before  November,  1502,  then  he 
must  have  made  it  exactly  when  he  says  he  did,  in 
1497-98,  for  we  can  trace  him  through  the  whole 
intervening  period  and  know  that  he  was  all  the 
time  busy  with  other  things. 

To  return,  then,  to  the  beginning,  and  sum  up 
the  case,  it  seems  to  me  that  things  must  have  hap* 
pened  about  as  follows :  — 

It  was  in  the  course  of  the  year  1494  that  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  began  to  feel  somewhat  disap- 
pointed at  the  meagre  results  obtained  Howitoune 
by  Columbus.  The  wealth  of  Cathay  ^J^^ 
and  Cipango  had  not  been  found,  the  Sff^^in 
oolonists,  who  had  expected  to  meet  with  ^^^- 
pearls  and  gold  growing  on  bushes,  were  sick  and 
angry,  Friar  Boyle  was  preaching  that  the  Admi- 
ral was  a  humbug,  and  the  expensive  work  of  dis- 
covery was  going  on  at  a  snail's  pace.  Meanwhile 
Vicente  YaSez  Pinzon  and  other  bold  spirits  were 
grumbling  at  the  monopoly  granted  to  Columbus 
and  begging  to  be  allowed  to  make  ventures  for 
themselves.  Now  in  this  connection  several  docu- 
«  ments  preserved  in  the  Archives  of  the  Indies  at 
Seville  are  very  significant.  On  the  9th  of  April, 
1495,  the  sovereigns  issued  their  letter  of  creden- 
tials to  Juan  Aguado,  whom  they  were  about  send- 
ing to  Hispaniola   to  inquire    into  the  charges 

difficulty  does  not  exist.  La  Gosa's  map  seems  to  me  —  as  I  have 
already  obserred  —  to  show  just  the  knowledge  which  he  must 
have  gained  from  conversation  with  Vespncius  without  seeing  a 
chart  of  the  Florida  coast ;  and  I  see  no  reason  why  Vespuoins  most 
neoeasarily  haTe  carried  such  a  chart  with  him  on  a  voyage  to  the 
Pearl  Coast,  or  why  he  should  have  been  anxious  to  impart  all  the 
details  of  his  professional  experience  to  a  brother  pilot. 


84  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

against  Columbus.^  On  that  veiy  same  day  they 
signed  the  contract  with  Berardi,  whereby  the  lat- 
ter bound  himself  to  furnish  twelve  vessels,  four  to 
be  ready  at  once,  four  in  June,  and  four  in  Sep- 
tember. On  the  next  day  they  issued  the  decree 
throwing  open  the  navigation  to  the  Indies  and 
granting  to  all  native  Spaniards,  on  certain  pre- 
scribed conditions,  the  privilege  of  making  voyages 
to  the  newly  found  coasts.  On  the  12th  they  in- 
structed Fonseca  to  put  Aguado  in  command  of  the 
first  four  caravels.^  All  these  acts  were  coherent 
parts  of  a  settled  policy  which  the  sovereigns  were 
then  pursuing.  Under  the  permission  of  April  10, 
says  Gomara,  quite  a  number  of  navigators  sailed, 
some  at  their  own  expense,  others  at  the  expense  of 
the  king;  all  hoped  to  acquire  fame  and  wealth, 

^  The  reader  may  like  to  see  the  form  of  this  sort  of  letter, 
which  so  often  carried  dismay  to  explorers,  worthy  and  miworthy, 
in  the  New  World  :—'*£!  Key  6  la  Reina :  Caballeros  y  Escndenw 
y  otras  personas  que  por  nnestro  mandado  estais  en  las  Indias, 
aUli  Y06  enviamos  A  Jnan  Ag^nado,  nnestro  Repostero,  el  cnal  de 
nnestra  parte  tos  hablari.  Nos  vos  mandamos  que  le  dedes  fe  y 
creencia.  De  Madrid  A  nveye  de  Abril  de  mil  y  cnatroeientos  y 
noventa  y  cinco  afite.  —  Yo  el  Rey.  —  Yo  la  Reika.  —  Por  man- 
dado  del  Rey  i  de  la  Reina  nnestros  Sefiores  —  Heknand  Alya- 
RKZ.**   Las  Casas,  Hist,  de  ias  IndiaSy  tom.  ii.  p.  110;  tmgliee :  — 

The  King  and  the  Queen: 

Cavaliers,  Esqnires,  and  other  persons,  who  by  our  command 
are  in  the  (ndies,  we  send  you  thither  Juan  Aguado,  our  (Sentle> 
man  of  the  Chamber,  who  will  speak  to  you  on  our  part.  We 
conmiand  that  you  give  him  faith  and  credence.  From  Madrid 
the  ninth  of  April,  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  ninety-fire. 

I  the  Kino  :  I  the  Qukbx. 

By  command  of  the  King  and  Queen,  our  Lords, 

Uerxaxd  Alt  abbs. 
Brief  but  carapn^hen9iTe ! 

^  NaTmirete,  C«l«cciom^  torn.  ii.  pp.  151^  IGd. 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  85 

but  since  for  the  most  part  they  only  succeeded 
in  ruining  themselves  with  their  discovering,  their 
voyages  were  forgotten.^ 

The  delays  in  fitting  out  such  expeditions  were 
apt  to  be  many  and  vexatious.  Of  the  twelve  car- 
avels which  Berardi  was  to  furnish,  the  first  four 
started  oflf  in  August,  with  A&^ado  in  _ 

^  '^  The  three 

conmiand.  The  second  squadron  of  Berardi  sqund- 
four,  which  was  to  have  been  ready  in 
June,  was  not  yet  fully  equipped  in  December, 
when  Berardi  died.  Then  Vespucius,  representing 
the  house  of  Berardi,  took  up  the  work  and  sent 
the  four  caravels  to  sea  February  3,  1496.  They 
were  only  two  days^out  when  a  frightful  storm  over- 
took and  wrecked  them,  though  most  of  the  crews 
were  saved.^  The  third  squadron  of  four  caravels 
was,  I  believe,  that  which  finally  sailed  May  10, 

^  "  Entendiendo  qnan  grandissimas  tierras  eran  las  que  Chris- 
toval  Colon  deacnbria,  fneron  xnuchos  &  continnar  el  deacabri- 
miento  de  todas ;  nnos  d  an  costa,  otros  A  la  del  Rey,  y  todoe  pen- 
aando  enriquecer,  ganar  fama  y  medrar  con  loe  Reyes.  Pero 
eomo  lo8  mas  dellos  no  hizieron  sino  descubrir  y  gastarse,  no 
qned6  memoria  de  todos,  qne  yo  sepa,"  etc.  Gomara,  Histaria 
general  de  las  Indicu^  Saragossa,  1553,  fol.  50. 

'  These  particnlais  are  from  memoranda  in  MS.,  extracted  by 
Mnfioz  from  account-books  in  the  Gasa  de  Contratacion  at  Seville. 
See  Irring's  Cdumlnu,  toI.  iii.  p.  397.  Irving  and  Navarrete  had 
access  to  the  documents  of  Mnlioz,  and  Navarrete  (tom.  iii.  p.  317), 
in  speaking  of  a  payment  made  from  the  treasury  on  January  12, 
1406,  observes  that  Yespucius  *'  went  on  attending  to  everything 
until  the  armada  was  despatched  from  San  Lncar,*'  i.  e.  February 
3, 1496.  Humboldt  strangely  interpreted  this  statement  as  mean- 
mg  that  Yespucius  fitted  out  the  third  expedition  of  Columbus, 
and  was  thus  kept  in  Spain  till  May  30,  1498  (Examen  eritiquey 
torn.  iv.  p.  268).  This  ingenious  a/t6t,  often  quoted  as  proving 
ths  impossibility  of  a  voyage  anywhere  by  Yespucius  in  1497,  is 
not  sustained. 


«6  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

1497.  WMe  it  was  getting  ready  Vicente  YaSSes 
Pinzon  returned  from  the  Levant,  whither  he  had 
been  sent  on  important  business  by  the  Boyereigns 
in  December,  1495.^  Columbus,  who  had  re- 
turned to  Spain  in  June,  1496,  protested  against 
what  he  considered  an  invasion  of  his  monopoly, 
and  on  June  2,  1497,  the  sovereigns  issued  a  de- 
cree which  for  the  moment  was  practically  equiva- 
lent to  a  revocation  of  the  general  license  accorded 
to  navigators  by  the  decree  of  April  10,  1495.' 
Observe  that  this  revocation  was  not  issued  until 
after  the  third  squadron  had  sailedl  The  sover- 
eigns were  not  going  to  be  baulked  in  the  litde 
scheme  which  they  had  set  on  *foot  two  years  be- 
fore, and  for  which  they  had  paid  out,  through 
Yespucius,  so  many  thousands  of  maravedis.^  So 
the  expedition  sailed,  with  Pinzon  in  chief  com- 
mand and  Solis  second,  with  Ledesma  for  one  of 
the  pilots,  and  Yespucius  as  pilot  and  cosmogra- 
pher. 

The  course  taken  and  the  coasts  visited  have 
already  been  sufficiently  indicated.     The  landfall 

^  Nayarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  75. 

^  Nayarrete,  torn.  ii.  p.  201. 

*  Vespuoiiu  speaks  of  Uie  ezpeditioii  as  sailing  in  the  serviee  of 
Sang  Ferdinand.  He  does  not  say  "  their  highnesses,"  or  *'  Los 
ReyeSf"  the  sovereigns,  but  mentioiis  only  the  king,  and  this 
agrees  with  Qomara^s  exprearion  abore  quoted,  ^some  at  Ihsit 
own  expense,  others  at  the  expense  of  the  king,"  and  also  with 
the  expression  of  the  pilot  Ledesma  in  his  testimony  in  the  Pro^ 
baruuu,  **por  mandado  de  S.  A."  (Nayarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  558). 
On  the  other  hand  Pinzon,  in  his  testimony,  says  "  por  mandado 
de  SS.  AA."  (which  he  would  not  haye  been  likely  to  say,  by  tiie 
way,  if  he  had  been  referring  to  events  of  the  year  1506,  after  the 
qneen's  death).  On  the  whole  it  seems  not  onlikely  that  this 
especially  Ferdinand's  yentora. 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  87 

was  tmdoubtedly  upon  the  northern  coast  of  Hon- 
duras.^ points  on  the  coasts  of  Yuca-  „    , 

m  T  ••II  How  f«r  aoftb 

tan  and  Tabasco  were  visited,  then  a  didye«puciai 

.  follow  tb« 

straight  run  was  made  to  Tampico,  and  rS?-S*ai^^ 
ihence  the  coast  was  followed  to  some 


^  It  was  a  Torj  common  custom  to  name  newly-discorered 
places  after  the  saint  upon  whose  day  they  were  discovered. 
When  you  see  a  saint's  name  on  a  cape  or  bay,  it  is  good  ground 
for  a  presumption  ihat  the  name  was  giyen  by  some  explorer  who 
first  Yiaited  it  on  that  saint's  day.  When  you  see  Navidad  it 
generally  means  Christmas,  but  not  unf  requently  June  24,  the 
NatiTity  of  John  the  Baptist.  When  Herrera  tells  us  that  Pinzon 
and  Sdis  discovered  the  bay  of  Honduras  and  named  it  **  fiaia  de 
Navidadf "  it  affords  a  strong  presumption  that  it  was  discovered 
on  St.  John's  day.  The  ships,  as  we  have  seen,  probably  started 
May  25  from  the  Grand  Canary,  whence  a  run  of  27  days  would 
bring  their  landfall  at  or  near  Cape  Honduras  on  June  21.  Three 
more  days  would  enable  them  to  recognize  the  water  to  the  west 
of  that  point  as  a  great  bay.  But  the  primitive  text  of  Vespu- 
cius  says  the  landfall  occurred  after  37  days.  As  the  figure  is 
given  in  Arabic  numerals  there  is  a  good  chance  for  error.  Cu- 
(imisly  enough,  the  Latin  version  of  1507  says  "  viginti  septem 
vtx  elapeis  diebus,"  i.  e.  **  after  barely  twenty-seven  days."  Is 
thb  a  mistake,  or  an  emendation  suggested  to  the  Latin  transla- 
tor by  some  outside  source  of  information  ?  The  latter,  I  sns- 
peet.  With  the  trade  wind  nearly  dead  astern,  and  with  the 
powerful  westward  current  in  the  Caribbean  sea,  the  quicker  run 
is  the  more  probable,  and  it  fits  the  name  Navidad.  The  reader 
win  reniember  that  this  same  June  24, 1497,  was  the  date  of  John 
Cabot's  landfall  on  the  northeastern  coast  of  North  America.  If 
the  Latin  figure  is  correct,  Vespucius  probably  saw  '*  the  conti- 
nent "  two  or  three  days  before  Cabot.  The  question  may  have 
interest  for  readers  fond  of  such  trifles.  It  is  really  of  no  conse- 
quence what  navigator  —  after  the  genius  of  Columbus  had 
opened  the  way  —  happened  to  be  the  first  to  see  land  which  we 
have  since  come  to  know  as  part  of  the  coast>line  of  a  continental 
system  distinct  from  the  Old  World.  Nor  has  the  question  a 
historic  interest  of  any  sort ;  for,  as  we  shall  see,  considerations 
of  ^  priority  "  connected  with  this  voyage  of  1497  had  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  the  naming  of  America. 


88  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

point  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States 
which  may  perhaps  be  determined  if  any  one  can 
succeed  in  interpreting  the  details  of  the  Cantino 
map.  If  the  latitudes  on  the  Tabula  Terre  Nove 
were  given  with  any  approach  to  correctness,  it 
would  be  helpful  in  deciding  this  point;  but  they 
are  hopelessly  wrong.  Though  Vespucius  was  in 
all  probability  the  original  source  of  this  part  of 
the  map,  it  is  impossible  that  he  should  ever  have 
given  such  latitudes.  It  is  pretty  clear  that  the 
data  must  have  been  "amended  "  by  Waldseemiiller 
to  suit  some  fancy  of  his  own.  The  Pearl  Coast 
is  not  far  out  of  place,  but  Hispaniola  is  more 
than  five  degrees  too  far  north  and  above  the  tropic 
of  Cancer;  the  tip  of  Florida  comes  in  35°,  which 
is  ten  degrees  too  far  north ;  and  for  aught  we  know 
the  error  may  go  on  increasing  to  the  top  of  the 
map.  The  latitude  assigned  to  "C.  del  mar  usi- 
ano  "  is  55^,  the  latitude  of  Hopedale  on  the  coast 
of  Labrador!  That  is  of  course  absurd.  But  if 
we  turn  back  to  the  Cantino  sketch  of  Florida  and 
suppose  the  proportions  of  the  sailing  chart  from 
which  it  was  taken  to  have  been  fairly  preserved, 
we  may  give  a  sort  of  definiteness  to  our  guessing. 
As  a  starting-point,  what  is  the  "  River  of  Palms  "  ? 
M.  Vamhagen  thinks  it  is  the  Mississippi,^  and 
if  we  were  to  adopt  that  scale  it  would  throw  the 
"Costa  del  mar  v^ano"  as  far  north  as  Long 
Island.  But  I  suspect  that  M.  Vamhagen  is  mis- 
taken. This  "River  of  Palms"  may  be  seen  in 
the  same  place  upon  the  Tabula  Terre  Nove^  and 
farther  to  the  left,  a  little  above  the  30th  parallel, 

1  Yarnhas^ii,  Amerigo  Vespucci^  p.  98. 


MUKDVS  Novna.  89 

ire  see  the  delta-like  mouth  of  a  much  larger  river, 
which  strongly  suggests  the  Mississippi.  Al- 
though it  is  tilted  too  far  to  the  left  and  the  coast- 
line is  incorrectly  drawn,  such  things  are  what  we 
expect  to  find  in  these  old  maps.  It  Beems  to  me 
that  this  is  the  Mississippi,  and  that  the  river  of 
the  palms  or  palmettos  is  the  Appalachicola,  while 
the  lake  of  the  parrots  may  be  St.  Andrew's  bay 
or  Santa  Kosa  hay.  With  the  scale 
thus  reduced  the  **  Costa  del  mar  v^ano"  uthtcbaMP 
(which  should  probably  be  "Cabo  del 
mar  oceano")  may  very  probably  represent  Cape 
Uatteras.  If  this  was  the  point  reached  by  Ves- 
pucius,  as  he  says,  in  June,  1496,  we  can  easily 
understand  the  significance  of  the  name  "Cape  of 
the  end  of  April," '  applied  to  the  extremity  of 
Florida. 

The  reader  must  not  attach  to  these  si^gestions 
an  importance  which  I  am  far  from  claiming  for 
them.  The  subject  is  a  difficult  one,  and  stands 
much  in  need  of  further  clues,  which  perhaps  may 
yet  be  found.  The  obscurity  in  which  this  voyage 
has  BO  long  been  enveloped  is  due  chiefly  to  the 
fact  that  it  was  not  followed  up  till  many  years 
had  elapsed,  and  the  reason  for  this  neg-  ^rhy  tha 
lect  impresses  upon  us  forcibly  the  im-  ^tfoUowtd 
possibility  of  understanding  the  history  "'^ 
of  the  Discovery  of  America  unless  we  bear  in  mind 

I  On  St.  Bemftrd'g  day,  Augaat  20,  Yegpncim  was  yerj  likety 
tt  tbe  Bermndaa,  and  Hr.  Hubert  Bancroft  {CnUral  America, 
ToL  i.  p.  100)  niggaits  tliBt  "  the  BsnnDdas  nuy  bave  been  Uia 
archipelago  of  San  Bernardo,  famona  for  its  fierce  Carib  popola- 
tioD,  but  ganerallj  located  off  the  gulf  of  Umbi."  Tbii  wenu 
Dot  unlikely. 


90  TEE  DISCOVSBT  Cff'  AMERICA. 

all  the  attendant  drcamstances.  One  miglit  at  firsi 
suppose  that  a  voyage  which  revealed  acmie  4,000 
miles  of  the  coast  of  North  America  would  have 
attracted  much  attention  in  Spain  and  have  become 
altogether  too  famous  to  be  soon  forgotten.  Such 
an  argument,  however,  loses  sight  <^  the  fact  that 
these  early  voyagers  were  not  trying  to  "discover 
America."  There  was  nothing  to  astonish  them 
in  the  existence  of  4,000  miles  of  coast-line  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  To  their  minds  it  was  sim- 
ply the  coast  of  Asia,  about  which  they  knew 
nothing  except  from  Marco  Polo,  and  the  natural 
effect  of  such  a  voyage  as  this  would  be  simply 
to  throw  discredit  upon  that  traveller.  So  long  a 
stretch  of  coast  without  any  great  and  wealthy 
cities  did  not  answer  at  all  to  his  descriptions. 
It  may  seem  strange  that  Pinzon  and  Solis  did  not 
come  upon  pyramidal  temples  and  other  evidences 
of  semi-civilization  on  the  coast  of  Yucatan,  aa 
Hernandez  de  Cordova  did  in  1517 ;  but  any  one 
who  has  sailed  along  coasts  in  various  weathers 
knows  well  how  easy  it  is  for  things  to  escape  no- 
tice  at  one  time  which  at  another  time  fairly  jump 
at  your  eyes.  As  will  be  shown  in  the  next  chap- 
ter, it  was  such  sights  in  1517,  after  Cuba  had 
been  colonized  by  Spaniards,  that  turned  the  drift 
of  exploration  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico.  Not  hap- 
pening to  catch  sight  of  such  things  in  1497,  and 
nowhere  finding  an  abundance  of  gold 

It  waa  not  ft  .  _  ,  -  j  •  i         . 

oommerdfti      or  jewels  Or  spiccs,  the  voyagers  did  not 

regard  their  expedition  as  much  of  a  sue* 

cess,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  people  in  Spain 

should  have  so  regarded  it.     If  King  Ferdinand 


MVNBUS  NOV  US.  91 

made  an  especial  venture  on  this  occasion,  lie  prob- 
ably took  no  pleasure  in  recollecting  the  fact  or 
having  it  recalled  to  him.  Indeed,  the  tone  of 
Vespucins,  in  this  part  of  his  letter  to  Soderini,  is 
not  at  all  that  <^  a  man  exalting  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  having  taken  part  in  a  great  discovery. 
He  says  that  they  did  not  find  anything  of  profit 
in  that  country,  except  some  slight  indications  of 
gold ;  but  he  suggests  that  perhaps  they  might  have 
done  better  if  they  had  understood  the  languages 
of  the  natives.  The  generalimpression  left  by  the 
letter  is  that  but  for  the  capture  of  as  many  slaves 
as  they  could  crowd  into  their  four  caravels,  they 
would  have  returned  home  without  much  to  show 
iar  their  labours. 

It  is  plain,  then,  that  the  1497  voyage  of  Pinzon 
and  Solis  was  not  followed  up  for  precisely  the 
same  reason  that  prevented  the  voyages  AUejMwen 
<rf  the  Cabots  from  being  followed  up.  SfitodSr*^ 
lliere  was  no  prospect  of  immediate  *****^ 
profit,  and,  moreover,  public  attention  was  ab- 
sorbed in  another  direction.  All  eyes  were  turned 
to  the  south,  and  for  a  good  reason,  as  I  had  oc- 
casion to  observe  in  the  preceding  chapter,  in  con- 
nection with  the  declining  reputation  of  Colum- 
bus. In  July,  1499,  Yasco  da  Gama  returned 
to  Lisbon  from  Hindustan,  with  ships  laden  with 
the  riches  of  the  East.  The  fame  of  this  achieve- 
ment for  the  time  threw  Columbus  quite  into  the 
shade.  The  glories  of  Cipango  and  Cathay  seemed 
ansubstantial,  like  promissory  notes  thrice  re- 
newed, when  Portugal  stepped  bKthely  into  the 
{Qreground  jingling  the  hard  cash.    Interest  in  the 


92  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

eastern  coast  of  Asia  for  the  moment  died  away. 
The  great  object  was  to  get  into  the  Indian  ocean, 
and  come  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the  rich  countries 
visited  by  Grama.  Spain  could  not  go  east  of  the 
papal  meridian ;  she  must  go  to  the  west  and  seek 
the  vaguely  rumoured  strait  of  Malacca,  which  was 
supposed  to  be  somewhere  to  the  south  of  Hon- 
duras. Nothing  more  was  done  in  the  gulf  of 
Mexico  for  twenty  years,  and  the  fu*st  voyage 
made  by  Spaniards  in  those  waters  was  probably 
seldom  talked  of. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  fourth  voyage 

of  Columbus  was  a  direct  response  to  the  voyage 

ofGama.    It  was  an  attempt  to  get  from 

Probable  in-         t*-i         ..  ttt  x<» 

fluence  of  the    the  Atlantic  mto  the  Indian  ocean.     If 

first  Toyage 

of  vetpudua    the  vicw  here  taken  of  the  first  voyage 

upon  the  ,  -^  •/    *^ 

fourth  of  Co-    of  Vespucius  be  correct,  Columbus  must 

lumbua.  ''' 

have  known  its  results  in  1502,  for  he 
took  with  him  Pedro  Ledesma,  who  had  been  one 
of  the  pilots  in  that  voyage.  Perhaps  the  Admiral 
may  have  selected  him  for  that  very  reason. 
Ledesma  would  naturally  tell  Columbus  that  he 
had  sailed  through  the  passage  between  Cuba  and 
Yucatan,  and  foimd  a  continental  coast  which  led 
him  ultimately  far  to  the  north  of  the  tropic  of 
Cancer.  Columbus  would  thus  see  that  Cuba, 
though  not  a  part  of  the  continent  as  he  had  sup- 
posed,  was  nevertheless  close  by  it;  that  a  voyage 
upon  the  coast  of  that  continent  would,  as  he  had 
supposed,  only  lead  him  northward;  and  that  he 
was  not  likely  in  the  latitude  of  Cuba  to  find  a 
channel  westward  through  Asia  into  the  Indian 
ocean.     With  his  general  view  of  the  situation 


MUNDU3  N0VU8.  98 

thus  confirmed  in  spite  of  the  insularity  of  Cuba, 
Columbus  had  no  motive  for  steering  west;  and 
the  prompt  decisiveness  with  which  from  the 
Queen's  Gardens  he  steered  across  open  sea  straight 
for  C&pe  Honduras  and  there  turned  eastward  is 
to  my  mind  a  atrong  indication  that  he  waa  weU 
informed  as  to  what  his  friend  Americus  had  seen 
to  the  west  of  that  cape.  But  for  such  definite  in- 
formation would  he  not  have  hugged  the  coast  of 
Cuba?  and  when  he  had  thus  passed  his  ^^Cape  of 
Good  Hope  "  and  reached  the  end  of  the  island, 
with  no  land  in  sight  before  him  in  any  direction, 
would  not  a  natural  impulse  have  carried  him  west- 
ward into  the  guU  of  Mexico? 

The  fourth  voyage  of  Columbus  was  not  the  first 
response  made  by  Spain  to  the  voyage  of  Gama. 
The  first  response  was  entrusted  to  Vi-  second  yoytge 
cente  YaSez  Pinzon,  the  way  having  o'Ve-pucfu.. 
been  indicated  by  the  second  voyage  of  Vespucius, 
in  company  with  Ojeda  and  La  Cosa,  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1499.  The  voyage  of  Ojeda  was  instigated 
by  Bishop  Fonseca,  with  some  intention  of  taking 
out  of  the  hands  of  Columbus  the  further  explora- 
tion of  the  coast  upon  which  valuable  pearls  had 
been  found.  The  expedition  sailed  May  16, 1499, 
from  Cadiz,  ran  down  to  the  Cape  Verde  islands, 
crossed  the  equator,  and  sighted  land  on  the  coast 
of  Brazil  in  latitude  4°  or  5^  S.,  somewhere  near 
Araeati.  Vespucius  gives  a  good  account  of  this 
half -drowned  coast.  ^    Thence  the  ships  ran  a  few 

^  The  landf  aU  on  this  voyage  has  been  commonly  placed  on  the 
coast  of  Surinam,  about  600  miles  eastward  from  Trinidad.    This 


94  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

leagues  to  the  southeast,  probably  to  see  whether 
the  shore  seemed  to  be  that  of  an  island  or  a  conti- 
nent. Finding  progress  difficult  against  the  equa- 
torial current,  they  turned  about  and  ran  north- 
west as  far  as  Cayenne,  thence  to  Paria,  and  so  on 
to  Maracaibo  and  to  Cape  de  la  Vela.     From 

is  because  Ojeda,  in  his  testimony  in  the  Probanxas,  did  not  allnde 
to  any  place  farther  east  than  Surinam.     But  thb  negative  cti- 
dence  is  here  of  small  value.    In  a  second  voyage,  in  1502,  Ojeda 
had  trespassed  upon  Portuguese  territory,  and  had  been  censured 
and  heavily  fined  for  so  doing  (Navarrete,  tom.  ii.  p.  430).    £vi- 
dently  in  giving  his  testimony,  in  1513,  Ojeda  thought  it  prudent 
to  give  the  Portuguese  a  wide  berth,  and  as  there  was  no  occasion 
for  his  saying  that  he  had  been  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  he  said  ncH 
thing  about  it.    The  account  of  Vespucius  is  clear  and  straightfor- 
ward.    It  ia  true  that  Mr.  Hubert  Bancroft  says,  *'  his  account  in 
the  different  forms  in  which  it  exists  is  so  full  of  blunders  that  it 
could  throw  but  little  light  upon  the  subject''  (CentrcU  America^ 
voL  i.  p.  113).    When  Mr.  Bancroft  says  this,  he  of  course  has  in 
mind  the  spurious  letter  published  in  1745  by  Bandini,  in  which 
Vespucius  is  supposed  to  g^ve  to  his  friend  Lorenzo  di  Pier  Fran- 
cesco de'  Medici  an  account  of  hb  second  voyage.    The  MS.  of 
this  letter  which  professes  to  be  an  original,  and  by  which  Ban- 
dini  was  deceived,  is  at  Florence,  in  the  Biblioteca  Riccardiana, 
MS.  No.  2112.    Neither  the  paper  nor  the  ink  is  older  than  the 
seventeenth  century,  the  handwriting  is  not  that  of  Vespucius, 
the  language  is  a  very  different  Italian  from  that  which  he  used, 
and  the  pages  swarm  with  absurdities.     (See  Vamhagen's  paper 
in  Bulletin  de  la  socifti  de  geographies  avril,  1858.)    Nothing  ex- 
cept the  blundering  change  of  Lariab  to  Parias  has  done  so 
much  to  bemuddle  the  story  of  Vespucius  as  this  letter  which 
some  clever  scamp  was  kind  enough  to  write  for  him  after  he 
had  been  more  than  a  hundred  years  under  the  sod.    It  is  curious 
to  see  the  elaborate  arguments  to  which  Humboldt  was  driven,  in 
his  Examen  critiquey  tom.  v.,  because  he  did  not  begin  at  the  be- 
ginning, with  textual  criticism  of  sources,  and  so  accepted  this 
epistle  as  genuine.    The  account  of  Ojeda's  voyage  in  the  third 
volume  of  Irving's  Columbus,  from  its  mixing  the  first  and  second 
voyages  of  Vespnoins,  is  so  full  of  blnnden  as  to  be  worse  than 
worthless  to  the  general  roador. 


MUNDU8  NOVUS.  95 

this  point  Ojeda,  with  part  of  the  little  squadron, 
went  over  to  Hispaniola,  and  arrived  there  on  the 
5th  of  September.  Ojeda's  visit  to  that  island 
was  xnadeL  no  friendl^  spirit  towa«i  Coluxnbus, 
but  there  is  good  reason  for  believing  that  the  Ad- 
miral or  some  of  his  people  learned  the  particulars 
of  Ojeda's  route  across  the  ocean  and  his  landfall. 
Early  in  October  two  caravels  were  sent  from  San 
Domingo  to  Spain,  and  probably  carried  such  in- 
formation as  to  determine  the  route  to  be  taken  by 
Pinzon.  That  gallant  captain  started  in  Decem- 
ber, and  followed  in  the  track  of  Yespucius  and 
Ojeda,  but  went  a  little  farther  to  the  second  royage 
south,  losing  sight  of  the  pole-star  and  ®'  ^^'^^ 
finally  striking  the  coast  of  Brazil  near  the  site  of 
Pemambuco,  in  latitude  8°  S.  Our  accounts  of 
this  voyage  ^  are  meagre,  and  it  does  not  appear  just 
why  Pinzon  turned  northward  from  that  point. 
While  crossing  the  equator  from  south  to  north, 
with  no  land  in  sight,  he  found  the  sea-water  fresh 
enough  to  drink.  Full  of  wonder  at  so  strange  a 
thing  he  turned  in  toward  the  coast  and  entered  the 
mouth  of  the  greatest  river  upon  the  earth,  the 
Amazon,  nearly  a  hundred  mUes  wide  and  sending 
huge  volumes  of  fresh  water  more  than  a  hundred 
miles  out  into  the  sea.     After  proceeding  as  far  as 

1  Bfannel  de  Valdorinos,  one  of  the  witnesses  in  the  Probanztu, 
says  that  he  went  on  this  voyage  with  Pinzon  the  8E(X)nd  time  that 
he  (Pinzon)  toent  to  make  discoveries  ('^la  segnnda  vez  que  fn^  4 
descnbrir/*  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  552).  This  might  mean  that 
his  fiist  voyage  was  the  one  with  Colnmbns  in  1492,  but  in  accord- 
ance with  the  general  usage  of  these  speakers,  the  phrase  refers 
to  him  as  for  the  second  time  in  command,  so  that  his  first  voyage 
must  have  been  that  of  1497-96. 


96  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

• 

the  Pearl  Coast  and  Hispaniola,  and  losing  two  of 
his  ships  in  a  hurricane,  Pinzon  returned  to  Spain 
in  September,  1500.  When  he  arrived  he  found 
that  his  fellow-townsman  Diego  de  Lepe  had  set 
sail  just  after  him,  in  January,  with  two  caravels, 
and  had  returned  in  June,  after  having  doubled 
Cape  San  Boque  and  followed  the  Brazilian  coast 
to  latitude  10^  S.,  or  thereabouts,  far  enough  to 
begin  to  recognize  its  southwesterly  trend.^ 

Affairs  now  became  curiously  complicated. 
King  Emanuel  of  Portugal  intrusted  to  Pedro  Al- 
varez de  Cabral  the  command  of  a  fleet  for  Hin- 
dustan; to  f oUow  up  the  work  of  Gama 


thtAtiMtUo  and  establish  a  Portugese  centre  of 
trade  on  the  Malabar  coast.  This  fleet 
of  thirteen  vessels,  carrying  about  1,200  men,  sailed 
from  Lisbon  March  9,  1500.  After  passing  the 
Cape  Venle  islands,  March  22,  for  some  reason 
not  clearly  known,  whether  driven  by  stormy 
weather  or  seeking  to  avoid  the  calms  that  were 
apt  to  be  troublesome  on  the  Guinea  coast,  Cabral 
took  a  somewhat  more  westerly  course  than  he  real- 
urhI,  and  on  April  22,  after  a  weaiy  progress  aver- 
aging less  than  60  miles  per  day,  he  found  himself 
on  the  coast  of  Brazil  not  far  beyond  the  limit 
reaeheil  by  Lepe.     It  was  easy  enough  thus  to 

'  FVmh  Jim^  14^)(K  to  A{«U.  ISOCK  IVxo  Alowo  NiAo  mud  Gns- 
tOTttl  G«K»rm  BUkiU  m  TOT^ipi  t«  iW  I\mri  Coast  mud  acqnired 
wneli  wiMJtIu  b«t  aft  it  <NMitnb«t«d  i^hiag  to  tb«  piugif  of  db- 
cot^r^r  1  Ihhtv  aol  i»elvNk^d  it  in  ut  list. 

TW  tvTi^  of  lUlri«>>  d«  Bwtiawk  viftk  Lo  Cosa  for  piloi, 
f^llM  iWMT.  IdO^  to  S^plMBber.  loOe.  was  ako  m  its  naim  ia- 
toM  a  tw5«f«  fcc  ftmth  aa4  fold.  Wt  it  coakpWtod  tke  discuioiy 
ol  tW  awtfcoim  coosi  of  vkal  vo  aov  kaov  to  bo  Soadk 
fN«a  iVfo  <!•  U  Vola  to  F^wto  BalW  <A  Iks  ktkMM  ol 


MUNDU8  NOV  US.  97 

ero96  the  ocean  unintentioiially,  for  In  that  latitude 
the  Brazilian  coast  lies  only  ten  degrees  west  o£ 
the  meridian  of  the  Cape  Verde  islands,  and  the 
southern  equatorial  current,  unknown  to  Cabral, 
sets  strongly  toward  the  very  spot  whither  he  was 
driven.  Approaching  it  in  such  a  way  Cabral  felt 
sure  that  this  coast  must  fall  to  the  east  of  the 
papal  meridian.  Accordingly  on  May  day,  at 
Porto  Seguro  in  latitude  16°  30'  S.,  he  took  formal 
possession  of  the  country  for  Portugal,  and  sent 
Gaspar  de  Lemos  in  one  of  his  ships  back  to  Lis- 
bon with  the  news.^  On  May  22  Cabral  weighed 
anchor  and  stood  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
As  the  fleet  passed  that  famous  headland  the  an- 
gry Genius  of  the  Cape  at  last  wreaked  his  ven- 
geance upon  the  audacious  captain  who  had  dared 
to  reveal  his  secret.  In  a  frightful  typhoon  four 
ships  were  sunk,  and  in  one  of  them  the  gallant 
Bartholomew  Dias  found  a  watery  grave. 

Cabral  called  the  land  he  had  found  Vera  Cruz, 
a  name  which  presently  became  Santa  Cruz;  but 
when  Lemos  arrived  in  Lisbon  with  the  news  he 
had  with  him  some  gorgeous  paroquets,  and 
among  the  earliest  names  on  old  maps  of  the  Bra- 
zilian coast  we  find  ^^Land  of  Paroquets"  and 
^Land  of  the  Holy  Cross."  The  land  lay  obvi- 
ously so  far  to  the  east  that  Spain  could  not  deny 
that  at  last  there  was  something  for  Portugal  out 

^  See  GandaTO,  Htstorta  da  provincia  Santa  Cruz  a  vtdgarmente 
ehamamos  Brazil,  Lisbon,  1576,  cap.  i. ;  Riccioli,  Geographia  et 
Hydrographia,  Venice,  1671,  lib.  iii.  cap-  22 ;  Barros,  Asia,  dec.  i. 
lib.  y.  cap.  2 ;  Macedo,  NoqOes  de  Corographia  do  Brasilf  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  1873 ;  Maohado,  Memoria  sobre  o  descobrimento  do  Brcuil, 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  1865. 


98  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

in  the  ^^ ocean  sea."  Much  interest  was  felt  at 
Lisbon.  King  Emanuel  began  to  prepare  an  ex- 
VMpuoiaa  pedition  for  exploring  this  new  coast, 
JJJJjJJSfPwI  a^d  wished  to  secure  the  services  of 
***•**•  some  eminent  pilot  and  cosmographer 

familiar  with  the  western  waters.  Overtures  were 
made  to  Amerieus,  a  fact  which  proves  that  he 
had  already  won  a  high  reputation.  The  over- 
tures were  accepted,  for  what  reason  we  do  not 
know,  and  soon  after  his  return  from  the  voyage 
with  Ojeda,  probably  in  the  autumn  of  1500, 
Amerieus  passed  from  the  service  of  Spain  into 
that  of  Portugal. 

The  remark  was  made  long  ago  by  Dr.  Robert- 
son, that  if  Columbus  had  never  lived,  and  the 
chain  of  causes  and  effects  at  work  in- 


wiw  fcftT*  dependentlv  of  him  had  remained  un- 
changed^  the  discoveiy  of  America  would 
not  long  have  been  postponed.  ^  It  would 
have  been  discovered  by  accident  on  April  22, 
1500«  the  dav  when  Cabral  first  saw  the  coast  of 
Bnudl.  All  other  navigators  to  the  western  shores 
of  the  Atlantic  since  1492  were  successors  of  Co- 
lumbus: not  so  Cabral.  In  the  line  of  causal  se- 
quence he  was  the  successor  of  Gama  and  Dias,  of 
Lan<;arole  and  Gil  Eannes«  and  the  freak  of  wind 
and  wave  that  carried  him  to  Porto  Segoro  had  no 
eonnectioa  with  the  scientific  triumph  of  the  great 
Genoese. 

This  adventure  of  Cabral's  had  interesting  con- 
sequences.    It  set  Iq  motKHi  the  train  of  events 

^  Ri>bmMM»  ffutery  of"  Awmrica.  bMok  iL     Hacnn 


jfTTDrs  yorrs.  99 

«Ucfa  ended  aft^  bodif  van  id  plaong  l]ip  namp 
"America^  upon  dv  m^ji.  On  May  14.  1601. 
VespDcin&,  who  ns  eriilaitlT  prinnpal  pOot  and 
guiding    qnrit   in   tins  vcrragc    nnd^  nnknomi 


- 

'--^ 

4>^  ^-^-^"^^M 

• 

^v  ^ 

^"^f/ 

■ 

/^/  ° 

» 

iL^   /     " 

« 

^ 

: \/       » 

«, 

,,      »      .,      ,      , 

Second,  Third,  uid  Foniih  Yejagtm  of  Vrnpneliu. 
ekies,  set  sail  from  Lisbon  with  three   caravels. 
It  is  not  quite  clear  who  was  chief  oaptiun,  but  M. 
Vamhagen  has  found  reasons  for  believing  that 


100  THE  DIBCOVEBT  OF  AMERICA. 

it  was  a  certain  Don  Nuno  Manuel.^  The  first 
halt  was  made  on  the  African  coast  at  Cape  Verde, 
the  first  week  in  June;  and  there  the  explorers 
met  Cabral  on  his  way  back  from   Hindustan. 

According  to  the  letter  attributed  to 
maetoCabT^    Vcspucius  and  published  in  1827  by 

Baldelli,^  the  wealth  stowed  away  in 
Cabral's  ships  was  quite  startling.  ^^He  says  there 
was  an  immense  quantity  of  cinnamon,  green  and 
dry  ginger,  pepper,  cloves,  nutmegs,  mace,  musk, 
civet,  storax,  benzoin,  porcelain,  cassia,  mastic, 
incense,  myrrh,  red  and  white  sandalwood,  aloes, 
camphor,  amber,"  Indian  hemp  and  cypress,  as 
well  as  opium  and  other  drugs  too  numerous  to 
mention.  ^'Of  jewels  he  saw  many  diamonds, 
rubies,  and  pearls,  and  one  ruby  of  a  most  beauti- 
ful colour  weighed  seven  carats  and  a  half,  but  he 
did  not  see  all."*  Verily,  he  says,  God  has  pros- 
pered King  Emanuel. 

After  leaving  Cape  Verde  the  little  fleet  had  to 
struggle  through  the  belt  of  calms,  amid  a  perpet- 
ual sultry  drizzle  with  fierce  thunder  and  lightning. 

After  sixtj-'-seven  days  of  "the  vilest 
Toyug*  v««pa-  weather  ever  seen  by  man  "  they  reached 
tiw  coMt  of      the  coast  of  Brazil  in  latitude  about  5^ 

S.,  on  the  evening  of  the  16th  of  August, 
the  festi\'al-<lay  of  San  Roque,  whose  name  was 
aciH>nUngly  given  to  the  cape  before  which  they 

*  Varnhiiirc'ii,  NourtllfS  rfckerthts  sw  Us  demiert  vojfaffe»  du 
\fti*4jf<ifrtir  Vtorrtntim,  Vienaii,  li^lR*,  p.  9. 

^  U  uot  iUolf  i;;«uaiu«,  it  is  T«ry  likely  baaed  on  genuine  mem- 
iMnuula. 

*  Maj«ir,  iViiNV  Hemry  tkf  Xavifotor,  p.  412 ;  aee  Um  does- 
lent  in  V«r»liag«n,  .la^riya  rr^^Nicci,  p.  SI. 


-■^-*■.'■' 


J 


•.       •       •••••       ••••        •»  • 

;    .'       ;  O    •*         •  "  .    '   .        •         •   ;  •       •  •  .     •» 

■  -   '    jkmfDUs  ifoVtts.    l&l' 

dropped  anchor.  From  this  point  they  slowly  fol- 
lowed the  coast  to  the  southward,  stopping  now  and 
then  to  examine  the  country.  In  some  places  the 
inhabitants  were  ferocious  Indians,  who  received 
them  with  showers  of  arrows,  but  fled  in  terror 
from  firearms.^  In  other  places  they  foimd  the 
natives  disposed  to  be  friendly,  but  ^^  wicked  and 
licentious  in  their  manner  of  living, 
more  like  the  style  of  the  Epicureans  wifcheanni- 


than  that  of  the  Stoics.  All  their  women 

are  in  common,  and  they  have  neither  kings  nor 

1  ^  There  were  two  in  the  shippe  which  toke  vpon  them  to 
Tewe  the  huide,  and  leame  what  spyces  and  other  commodities 
might  he  had  therein.  They  were  appoynted  to  retnme  within 
the  space  of  fine  daies  at  the  vttermost.  Bat  when  eyght  dayes 
were  now  paste,  they  whiche  remayned  in  the  shippes  heard  yet 
nothing  of  theyr  retnme :  wher  as  in  the  meane  time  great  mnl- 
titndes  of  other  people  of  the  same  lande  resorted  to  the  Sea 
syde,  hnt  conld  hy  no  meanes  he  allured  to  commnnicacion. 
Tet  at  the  length  they  hronghte  certaine  women,  which  shewed 
themselues  familier  towarde  the  Spaniardes  [L  e.  Portngnese]. 
Wherapon  they  sent  forth  a  young  man,  heyng  very  strong  and 
quioke,  at  whom  as  the  women  wondered,  and  stode  gazing  on 
him  and  f  eling  his  apparell,  there  came  sodenynly  a  woman  downe 
from  a  moimtayne,  hringing  with  her  seoretely  a  great  stake, 
with  which  she  gaue  him  such  a  stroke  hehynde  that  he  fell  dead 
on  the  earth.  The  other  womenne  f  oorthwith  toke  hym  hy  the 
legges,  and  drewe  him  to  the  mountayne,  whyle  in  the  mean 
tyme  the  men  of  the  oountreye  came  foorth  with  howes  and 
arrowes,  and  shot  at  oure  men.  But  the  [Portuguese]  disoharge- 
ing  fonre  pieces  of  ordenaunce  agaynst  them,  drone  them  to 
flighte.  The  women  also  which  had  slayne  the  yong  man,  cut 
hjm  in  pieces  euen  in  the  sight  of  the  [Portuguese],  shewing 
them  the  pieces,  and  resting  them  at  a  greate  fyre.  The  men 
also  made  certayn  tokens,  wherhy  they  declared  that  not  past 
Tiii.  daies  hefore  they  had  in  lyke  maner  serued  other  christian 
men.  Wherf  ore  ye  [Portuguese]  hauinge  thus  sustayned  so  gre- 
uons  ininries  ynreuenged,  departed  with  euil  wyL"  Eden's 
Tnatite  of  the  Newe  India,  London,  1553. 


KfS  'the  DIBtoV'^RY  arAMEBICAl    ' 

tomplefl  nor  idoU.  Xeither  have  tliey  oomneroe  et 
money ;  but  they  have  strife  among  them  and  figfal 
moRt  cruelly  and  witkout  any  order.  They  also 
feed  on  human  flesh.  I  saw  one  very  wicked 
wreteh  who  boasted,  as  if  it  were  no  small  htmoor 
to  himself,  that  he  had  eaten  three  hundred  men. 
I  saw  also  a  certain  town,  in  which  I  staid  about 
twenty-seven  days,  where  salted  hiunan  flesh  was 
suspended  from  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  even  as  we 
suspend  the  flesh  of  the  wild  boar  from  the  beams 
of  the  kitchen,  after  drying  and  smoking  it,  or  aa 
we  hang  up  strings  of  sausages.  They  were  aston- 
ished to  hear  that  we  did  not  eat  our  enemies, 
whose  flesh  they  say  is  very  appetizing,  with 
dainty  flavour  and  wondroua  relish."'  Theclimate 
and  landscape  pleased  Americus  much  better  than 
the  people.  He  marvelled  at  the  temperate  and 
hnlmy  atmosphere,  the  brilliant  plumage  of  tha 
binls,  the  enonnous  trees,  and  the  aromatio  herbs, 
«ndowed  by  fancy  with  such  hygienic  virtues  that 
the  jMKtplo,  aa  he  understood  them  to  say,  lived 
to  Ik!  a  bundre<t  and  fifty  years  old.  His  thoughts 
ven>  of  Eden,  like  those  of  Columbus  on  the  Pearl  * 
(^oast.  If  the  terrestrial  paradise  is  anywhere  to 
Im'  found  on  the  earth,  said  Vespucius,  it  cannot 
1h>  far  froiu  this  region. 

So  much  timo  u'aa  given  to  inspecting  the  coun- 
try and  its  inhabitants  that  the  pr<^Tess  of  the 
-TvmrotAii  "'•'l**  ^"^  «low.  It  was  not  until  All 
■^•^  Saints  day.  the  first  of  November,  that 

tlw«y  rfai'htHt  tho  Uiy  in  Lititude  13°  S.,  which  is 

>  Sm  th*  lf«M  to  ll*4i«t.  Ib  TankagM.  Amtriye  Vt^tai, 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  108 


still  known  by  the  name  which  thej  gave  it, 
de  Todos  Santos.^  On  New  Year's  day,  1502, 
they  arriyed  at  the  noble  bay  where  fifty-four 
years  later  the  chief  city  of  Brazil  was  founded. 
They  would  seem  to  have  mistaken  it  (niangeofai- 
for  the  mouth  of  another  huge  river,  SS^uttToi 
like  some  that  had  already  been  seen  in  ^i*!*^ 
this  strange  world;  for  they  called  it  Rio  de  Ja« 
neiro  (river  of  January)*^  Thence  by  February  15 
they  had  passed  Cape  Santa  Maria,  when  they  left 
the  coast  and  took  a  southeasterly  course  out  into 
the  ocean.  Americus  gives  no  satisfactory  reason 
for  this  change  of  direction;  such  points  were  prob-* 
ably  reserved  for  his  book.  Perhaps  he  may  have 
looked  into  the  mouth  of  the  river  La  Plata,  which 
is  a  bay  more  than  a  hundred  miles  wide;  and  the 
sadden  westward  trend  of  the  shore  may  have  led 
him  to  suppose  that  he  had  reached  the  end  of  the 
oontinent.  At  any  rate,  he  was  now  in  lomritude 
more  than  twenty  degr^  west  of  the  3iian 

^  The  mkreading'  of  thu  name,  in  which  the  h  was  ohaqged  into 
(/,  Saye  rise  to  one  of  the  funniest  absurdities  known  to  geo^ra- 
ph  J.  A  Bakia  de  Todos  Santos  became  La  Badia  de  Todos  San* 
tos  (Latiiiy  Abbatia  Omnium  Sanctorum)  ;  so  the  Baif  became  an 
Abbe^f  supposed  to  exist  on  that  barbarous  coast  1 1  The  reader 
may  see  this  name,  giren  very  distinctly,  upon  the  Ruysch  map, 
and  also  (if  his  eyes  are  sharp)  on  the  Tabtda  Terre  Nove, 

Mr.  Winsor  {Narr.  and  Crit.  Hist,,  viii.  373)  attributes  the  dis- 
eovery  of  the  Bahia  de  Todos  Santos  to  ChristoTSo  Jaques  in 
1503.  But  thai  is  impossible,  for  the  name  occurs  in  that  place 
on  the  Cantino  map.  Yespuoius  arrived  in  Lisbon  September  7, 
1502 ;  so  that  I  beliere  we  can  fix  the  date  of  that  map  at  be- 
tween September  7  and  November  19, 1502. 

3  Vamhagen,  p.  110;  the  name  is  sometimes  attributed  to  Mar* 
tino  de  Sousa,  1531,  but  that  is  improbable.  See  Winsor,  Narr^ 
and  Crit.  Hist.,  yiiL  d9a 


104  THE  DI8COVEBT  OF  AMEBICA. 

oi  Cape  San  Boqne,  and  therefore  nnqnestion- 
ably  out  of  Portuguese  waters.  Clearly  there  was 
no  use  in  going  on  and  discovering  lands  which 
coidd  belong  only  to  Spain.  This  may  account,  I 
think,  for  the  change  of  direction.  New  lands 
revealed  toward  the  southeast  might  perhaps  come 
on  the  Portuguese  side  of  the  line.  Americus  was 
already  somewhat  farther  south  than  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  and  nearer  the  antarctic  pole  than  any 
civilized  man  had  ever  been  before,  except  Bar- 
tholomew Dias.  Possibly  he  may  also  have  had 
some  private  notion  of  pukg  piemy's  theory  of 
antarctic  land  to  the  test.  On  the  part  of  officers 
and  crews  there  seems  to  have  been  ready  acqui- 
escence in  the  change  of  course.  It  was  voted  that 
for  the  rest  of  the  voyage  Americus  should  assume 
the  full  responsibility  and  exercise  the  chief  com- 
mand; and  so,  after  laying  in  food  and  fresh  water 
enough  to  last  six  months,  they  started  for  realms 
unknown. 

The  nights  grew  longer  and  longer  until  by 
April  8  they  covered  fifteen  hours.  On  that  day 
^  ^    the  astrolabe  showed  a  southern  lati- 

SSSiViSS.***  *^*^^®  ^  ^^'*'     Before  night  a  frightful 
storm  overtook  our  navigators,  and  after 

four  days  of  sinuUling  imder  bare  poles,  land  hove 

in  sights  but  no  words  of  welcome  greeted  it.     In 

that  rough  sea  the  danger  on  such  a  coast  was  ap- 

)uiUiug«  all  the  more  so  because  of  the  f(^  and 

ideet.     It  was  the  Idand  of  South  Georgia,  in  lat- 

itmle  hA"^  S.«  and  about  1%:200  miles  east  from  Tierra 

lie!  Fuego*     Oa^^taiu  Cook*  who  reiliseovered  it  in 

January  (.ittklsuiiunerX  1775^  oaUed  it  the  most 


UUNDVS  SOWS.  105 

vretehed  place  he  had  ever  §een  on  the  globe.  In 
comparison  with  this  scarped  and  craggy  island, 
covered  down  to  the  water's  edge  with  glaciers, 
Cook  called  the  savage  wastes  of  Tierra  del  Fo^^ 
balmy  and  hospitable.  Struggling  gnsts  lash  the 
waves  into  perpetual  fury,  and  at  intervals  in  the 
blinding  snow-flurries,  alternated  with  freezing 
mns,  one  catches  ominous  glimpses  of  tumbling 
ice-floes  and  deadly  ledges  of  rock.  For  a  day  and 
a  night  while  the  Portuguese  ships  were  driven 
along  within  sight  of  this  dreadful  coast,  the  sail- 
ors, with  blood  half  frozen  in  their  veins,  prayed 
to  their  patron  saints  and  made  vows  of  pilgrimage. 
Aa  soon  as  the  three  ships  succeeded  in  exchanging 
signals,  itwaadecided  tomakeforhome.  -^ 
Vespncius  tiien  headed  straight  K.  N.  ^'^^^'■^ 
E.,  through  the  huge  ocean,  for  Sierra 
Leone,  and  the  distance  of  more  than  4,000  miles 
was  made — with  wonderful  accuracy,  though  Ves- 
pocius  says  nothing  about  that  —  in  thirty-three 
days.  At  Sierra  Leone  one  of  the  caravels,  no 
longer  seaworthy,  was  abandoned  and  burned; 
after  a  fortnight's  rest  ashore,  the  party  went  on 
in  the  other  two  ships  \o  the  Azores,  saA  thence 
after  some  further  delay  to  Lisbon,  where  they 
arrived  on  the  7th  of  September,  1502. 

When  we  remember  how  only  sixty-seven  years 
before  this  date  the  dauntless  Gil  Eannes  sailed 
into  the  harbour  of  Lisbon  amid  deafen-  „    ^  , , 

maoriial  lin- 
ing plaudits  over  the  proud  news  that  poHMweof 

in  a  coasting  voyage  be  had  passed  be- 
yond Cape  Bojador,  there  is  something  positively 
startling  in  the  progreaa  that  had  been  achieved. 


106  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Among  all  the  voyages  made  during  that  eventful 
period  there  was  none  that  as  a  feat  of  navigation 
surpassed  this  third  of  Vespucius,  and  there  was 
none,  except  the  first  of  Columbus,  that  outranked 
it  in  historical  importance.  For  it  was  not  onlj  a 
voyage  into  the  remotest  stretches  of  the  Sea  of 
Darkness,  but  it  was  preeminently  an  incursion 
into  the  antipodal  world  of  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere.  Antarctic  cold  was  now  a  matter  of  posi* 
tive  experience,  no  less  than  arctic  cold.^  Still 
more  remarkable  was  the  change  in  the  aspect  of 
the  starry  heavens.  Voyages  upon  the  African 
coast  had  indeed  already  familiarized  Portuguese 
sailors  with  the  disappearance  of  the  pole-star  be- 
low the  northern  horizon,  and  some  time  befofe 
reaching  the  equator  one  could  see  the  majestic 
Southern  Cross.^  But  in  this  course  fr<Mn  Lisbon 
to  South  Georgia  Yespucius  sailed  over  an  arc  of 
98^,  or  more  than  one  fourth  the  circumference  of 
the  globe.     Not  only  the  pole-star,  but  the  Great 

^  Yespuoios  migbt  well  have  said,  in  the  words  of  the  great 

Spanish  epic :  — 

Cliinaa  pMsd,  m«d4  cop»telaciooe«, 

Golf 01  lnaT«g«bl«t  naTlgando, 

Xa%tttdiMido»  BeSor,  lewtia  corona 

HuU  U  MMtnl  frigida  souu 

StcOIa,  ifrauMJM,  xxxrlL 

*  In  Ptolemy's  time  the  Soothem  Crass  passed  the  meridian  of 

AUxandria  at  an  altitude  of  t^'  54'  ahore  the  horizon ;  to-daj, 

owinir  to  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  it  is  S^  helow  the  hori- 

ion  in  that  |daee.    See  Hnmholdt,  Examen  oritique,  torn.  It.  p. 

a^l.    The  siK^I  of  it  ^mm  familiar  to  Chiistiaa  anohorites  in 

KtfYpt  in  the  tkays  of  St*  Athanasins*  and  to  Arah  sailors  in  the 

U«hI  Hea  In  the  MmMW  A|r««%  whence  Pante  maj  hare  got  his 

hiHtV)rletip»  «if  U-     h  ftnalW  panted  out  of  sight  at  Alexandria 

aKvm  4.  tw  IHIU.    CaJmnmU  otewml  ii  in  14&4  frsm  the  ritwr 


MUNDua  urovua.  107 

Bear,  the  Swan,  and  the  larger  part  of  the  constel* 
lations  visible  from  Lisbon  sank  out  of  sight; 
Castor  and  Pollux,  Arcturus  and  the  AnAnurotio 
Pleiades,  were  still  yisible,  but  in  ^^^^ 
strange  places,  while  over  all  the  sky  ahead  twin- 
kled unknown  stars,  the  Milky  Way  changed  its 
shape,  and  the  mysterious  Coalsacks  seemed  to 
beckon  the  voyager  onward  into  realms  of  eternal 
sleet  and  frost.  Our  Florentine  navigator  was 
powerfully  affected  by  these  sights.  The  strange 
coast,  too,  which  he  had  proved  to  extend  at  least 
as  far  south  as  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  arrested 
his  attention  in  a  veiy  different  way  from  the  coasts 
of  Honduras  and  Florida.  In  these  there  was 
nothing  to  startle  one  out  of  the  natural  belief  that 
they  must  be  parts  of  Asia,  but  with  the  Brazilian 
shore  it  was  otherwise.  A  coast  of  continental  ex- 
tent, beginning  so  near  the  meridian  of  the  Cape 
Verde  islands  and  running  southwesterly  to  lati- 
tude 35°  S.  and  perhaps  beyond,  did  not  fit  into 
anybody's  scheme  of  things.  None  of  the  ancient 
geographers  had  alluded  to  such  a  coast,  unless  it 
might  be  supposed  to  be  connected  with  ^hy  vmpa- 
the  Taprobane  end  of  Mela's  Antich-  fr^^^^Siw 
thones,  or  with  Ptolemy's  Terra  Incog-  ^**'^*^" 
nita  far  to  the  east  and  southeast  of  Cattigara.  In 
any  case  it  was  land  unknown  to  the  ancients,  and 
Vespucius  was  right  in  saying  that  he  had  beheld 
there  things  by  the  thousand  which  Pliny  had 
never   mentioned.^    It  was  not  strange  that  he 

^  '*  Et  osrto  credo  qnod  PUniiis  noeter  millesimam  partem  non 
Magent  generis  pritaoonun  reliquanimqne  auimn,  necnon  & 
anjmalium  que  in  iiedem  regionibns  sunt,  cum  tanta  faciermn 
atqne  colomm  dinerutate  qnod  consninate  picture  artif  ez  Poli- 


108  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AliEBICA. 

should  call  it  a  New  World,  and  in  meeting  with 
this  phrase,  on  this  first  occasion  in  which  it  ap- 
pears in  any  document  with  reference  to  any  part 
of  what  we  now  call  America,  the  reader  must  be 
careful  not  to  clothe  it  with  the  meaning  which  it 
wears  in  our  modem  eyes.  In  using  the  expres- 
sion "New  World  "  Vespucius  was  not  thinking  of 
the  Florida  coast  which  he  had  visited  on  a  former 
voyage,  nor  of  the  "islands  of  India"  discovered 
by  Columbus,  nor  even  of  the  Pearl  Coast  which 
he  had  followed  after  the  Admiral  in  exploring. 
The  expression  occurs  in  his  letter  to  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici,  written  from  Lisbon  in  March  or  April, 
1503,  relating  solely  to  this  third  voyage.  The 
letter  begins  as  follows :  — 

"I  have  formerly  written  to  you  at  sufficient 
Hia  letter  to  length  ^  about  my  return  from  those  new 
Loxenso.  countrics  which  in  the  ships  and  at  the 
expense  and  command  of  the  most  gracious  King 

detiu  in  pingendis  illis  deficeret.  Omnes  arbores  ibi  sunt  odonte : 
et  singnle  ex  te  ginnnm  vel  oleum  yel  liquorem  aliquem  emittont. 
Qnomm  proprietates  si  nobis  note  essent  non  dabito  qnin  hn* 
manis  corporis  salnti  forent,  &  certe  si  paradisus  terrestiis  in 
aliqna  sit  terre  parte,  non  longe  ab  illis  r^onibns  distare  ez- 
tstimo.**  Vamhagea,  p.  21.  In  this  cbarming  passage  the  great 
sailor,  b j  a  slip  of  the  memory,  got  one  of  his  names  wrong.  It 
was  not  the  sculptor  Poljdetos,  bnt  the  painter  Polygnotos  that 
he  really  had  in  mind. 

^  Several  allnsions  in  the  letter  indicate  that  Vespncias  had 
written  to  Lorenzo  soon  after  his  retom,  announcing  that  fact 
and  promising  to  send  him  his  journal  of  the  rojage.  He  was 
nnable  to  fulfil  this  promise  because  the  King  of  Porti^^al  kept 
the  jonmal  and  Vespucina  felt  delicate  about  asking  him  for  it. 
At  last,  in  the  spring  of  1503,  before  starting  on  another  long 
voyage,  oar  navigator  wrote  this  brief  letter  to  his  old  friend, 
giving  hin  ^  just  the  main  points,''  though  he  had  not  yet  ?•• 
wrversd  has  JooTBaL 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  109 

of  Portugal  we  have  sought  and  found.     It  is 
proper  to  call  them  a  new  world." 

Observe  that  it  is  only  the  new  countries  visited 
on  this  third  voyage,  the  countries  from  Cape  San 
Roque  southward,  that  Vespucius  thinks  it  proper 
to  call  a  new  world,  and  here  is  his  reason  for  so 
calling  them :  — 

''Since  among  our  ancestors  there  was  no  know- 
ledge of  them,  and  to  all  who  hear  of  the  affair  it 
is  most  novel.  For  it  transcends  the  ideas  of  the 
ancients;  since  most  of  them  say  that  beyond  the 
equator  to  the  south  there  is  no  continent,  but 
only  the  sea  which  they  called  Atlantic,  and  if  any 
of  them  asserted  the  existence  of  a  continent  there, 
they  found  many  reasons  for  refusing  to  consider 
it  a  habitable  country.  But  this  last  voyage  of 
mine  has  proved  that  this  opinion  of  theirs  was 
erroneous  and  in  every  way  contrary  to  the  facts, 
since  in  those  southern  regions  I  have  found  a  con- 
tinent more  thickly  inhabited  by  peoples  and  ani- 
mals than  our  Europe,  or  Asia,  or  Africa,  and 
moreover  a  climate  more  temperate  and  agreeable 
than  in  any  other  region  known  to  us;  as  you  will 
understand  below  when  I  write  you  briefly  just  the 
main  points,  and  [describe]  the  most  remarkable 
things  that  were  seen  or  heard  by  me  in  this  new 
world,  —  as  will  appear  below."  ^ 

^  I  give  here  in  paraUel  colnmiis  two  of  the  earliest  texts  of 
thU  yery  interesting  and  important  paragraph :  — 

Latin  text  of  1504.  Italian  version  in  Venetian  dia» 

lecty  Vicenza,  1507. 

'* Snperiorihns    diehns    satis        "Li  passati  zonii  assai  am- 

ample    tibi    scripsi    de    reditu    plame'te  te    scrissi  de  la  mia 

meo  ab   novis  illis   regionibns    retomata  de  q^Ui  noni  paese: 

quas    et    classe    et     impensis    iqnali   &    en'  larmata    &   en' 


110 


THE  DI8COVXBT  OF  AMERICA. 


This  expression  ^'Noyob  Mnndos,"  ibiis  occur* 
ring  in  a  private  letter,  had  a  remarkable  career. 


•t  numdAto  isCaiis  sereniasiiiii 
PortugAiio  Begu  perqnisiTimiis 
A  invenimiu.  Quaaqae  no- 
Yum  mnnduin  appeUre  licet 
Qiuuido  apnd  maiores  noatros 
nulla  de  ipsis  fuerit  habita 
co§^tio  &  aadientibqa  omni- 
buB  sit  Douiaaima  res.  £t  enim 
heo  opinionem  nostromm  an- 
tSquomm  exoedit :  onm  illomm 
maior  pan  dicat  rltra  lineam 
equinotialem  et  Tersns  meridiem 
Don  esse  oontinentem,  sed  mare 
tantnm  <|uod  Atlanticnm  to- 
oanere  et  si  qui  eonim  eon- 
tinentem  ibi  esse  affirmaaerunt, 
•am  esse  terram  babitabilem 
maltis  rationibus  negavenmt. 
Sed  hano  eomm  opinionem  esse 
f  alsam  et  Teritati  omaino  coa> 
trariam,  heo  mea  ultima  navi^ 
gatio  declaranit,  cam  in  partibna 
iUis  aeMwidiaaiis  contineadem 
lav«MM«im  f  rtqnentioribtts  popa- 
Us  ^  animalibiis  habitatam 
quara  nostnim  Ettn>pam,  sen 
Asiam«  t^  Africam,  et  iasnper 
aerem  au^cis  tMuperatnm  ti 
amenurn  qnam  in  quauia  alia 
nfi(>uie  a  iK^bis  <^>|n»it3S :  pront 
iafeirias  inti»lH|^M  vbi  tucvincte 
taatam  iv^mm  <>apita  MTiWastts^ 
^  cMi  diiHBiHK^M  aaa«^uiM»e  et 
WMSKMci*  q««  a  hm  Tel  t«»  Tel 
aa<iiK)t>^  in  Ikv  ae«o  wa»l« 
<^aeii»:  Tt  infra  paiebit.*' 


lespeoo  A  eeina*dame*to  de 
q^sto  Serenissimo  Re  de  por* 
togallo  hanemo  ceicato  A 
letronato:  i  qjli  nooo  mondo 
ebiamare  ne  sta  licito  p^  dt' 
ap(S8o  de  imazori  n,ri  ninna 
da  qtlli  estata  baota  oognitio^e : 
&  a  tuti  q^lli  cbe  aldira^no 
sera  nonissime  cose :  imperocke 
q^sto  la  oppinione  de  li  n(ri 
antiqt  ezoede:  oo*cio  sia  ehe  d* 
q^Ui  la  maxor  P(te  dica  ultra 
lalinea  eqtnotiale:  &  nerno  el 
meao  lomo  no'  eeser  oo'ttnente : 
Ma  el  mare  aolame'te:  elqnal 
Atala*tico  ba*DO  cbiamato:  E 
si  qual  *cbe  nno  de  q.Ue  co^ti* 
nente  li  esser  ha*  no  aifirmato: 
q.Ua  easer  tena  habitabile  per 
molte  rasione  ba*no  negato. 
Ma  questa  sie  oppinione  easer 
falsa  A  alanerita  ogid  modo 
eo*traria:  Qnesta  mia  nltinia 
nanigatinoe  he  dechiarato:  oo* 
ctosia  die  in  quelle  parte  men* 
dioaale  el  co'tinenCe  io  habia 
letnwato:  de  piu  frequeoti 
^  a'i'ali  hahitata  de  la 


:  o  uero  Asa:  o 
uero  Affrica:  A  aacora  laere 
piu  tempersto  ^  ameno:  dM 
in  q«e  banda  ahzm  vecioae  da 
nui  cctpwwgiute :  come  de  sotto 


MUNDUS  KOVUS.  Ill 

£arly  in  Jane,  1503,  about  the  time  when  Amer- 
icas was  starting  on  his  fourth  voyage,  The  letter 
Lorenzo  died.  By  the  beginning  of  SS?!^^£ 
1504,  a  Latin  version  of  the  letter  was  ISSfitSoS- 
printed  and  published,  with  the  title  ^^'"'^ 
'^Mundus  Novus."  It  is  a  small  quarto  of  only 
four  leaves,  with  no  indication  of  place  or  date; 
but  on  the  verso  of  the  last  leaf  we  are  informed 
that  ^The  interpreter  Giocondo  translated  this 
letter  from  the  Italian  into  the  Latin  language, 
that  all  who  are  versed  in  the  Latin  may  learn  how 
many  wonderful  things  are  being  discovered  every 
day,  and  that  the  temerity  of  those  who  want  to 
probe  the  Heavens  and  their  Majesty,  and  to  know 
more  than  is  allowed  to  know,  be  confounded ;  as 
notwithstanding  the  long  time  since  the  world  be- 
gan to  exist,  the  vastness  of  the  earth  and  what  it 
contains  is  still  unknown."  ^  This  rebuke  to  some 
of  the  audacious  speculators  of  the  time  is  quite  in 
the  clerical  vein,  and  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn 
that  "the  interpreter  Giocondo"^  was  a  Domin- 
ican friar.  He  was  Giovanni  Giocondo,  of  Verona, 
the  eminent  mathematician,  the  scholar  who  first 
edited  Yitruvius,  and  himself  an  architect  famous 
enough  to  be  intrusted  with  the  building  of  the 
dome  of  St.  Peter's  during  part  of  the  interval 
between  Bramante  and  Michael  Angelo.^    From 

^  For  an  aceoant  of  this  and  the  other  early  editions  of  Mundus 
NavuMy  see  Harrisse,  Bibliotheca  Americana  Vetustissima,  pp.  55- 
88,  and  Additioru,  pp.  16-21,  20. 

'  '^loc&dns  interpres^'  becomes,  in  the  hands  of  the  Venetian 
transUtor  of  1507,  **  el  iocondo  interprete,**  anglick  "  the  jocund 
interpreter 'M  I 

*  Symonds,  Benaitsance  in  Italy f  vol.  ii.  p.  429,  toL  iiL  p.  91. 


112  THE  DI8C0VEBT  OF  AMERICA. 

1499  to  1507  Giooondo  was  living  in  Paris,  en- 
gaged in  building  the  bridge  of  Notre  Dame,  which 
is  still  standing.^  Of  all  the  thousands  who  pass 
over  it  from  day  to  day,  how  many  have  ever 
dreamed  of  associating  it  with  the  naming  of  Amer- 
ica? This  Giooondo,  who  is  now  positively  known 
to  have  been  the  one  that  translated  the  letter  of 
Vespucius,^  was  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  the 
Medici  family  at  Florence  and  ako  with  Soderini. 
There  would  be  nothing  strange,  therefore,  in  a 
manuscript  copy  of  a  brief  but  intensely  inter- 
esting letter  finding  its  way  into  his  hands  from 
this  quarter.  I  can  find  no  indication  that  any 
printed  Italian  text  preceded  this  Latin  version, 
and  am  disposed  to  believe  that  Giocondo  made  it 
directly  from  a  manuscript  copy  of  the  original 
letter.  The  first  edition  of  Giocondo's  version  was 
clearly  one  of  those  that  were  published  in  Paris 
late  in  1503  or  early  in  1504.     At  that  time  Yes- 


^  SaaTml,  Ilistoire  H  rtekerthes  de$  amtiqmUs  de  Paris^ 
1724,  torn.  i.  p.  2^>;  Tinbosclu.  Utteratwra  italiana,  Florenoe, 
18iH\  torn.  T).  pp.  1;^  20^  1144-1 15a 

*  WnlWr  Lnd,  Sptatimm  Orhis.  Stnsbmg,  1507,  fol.  in.  Thii 
HtU«  tnict«  of  obIt  four  le«TM  folio,  has  b««n  of  priedes  Taloe 
in  vliNmi^  up  nuuiT  of  tW  u^jiist  and  absurd  aiqwnioiis  against 
VespiM<ivttu  IW  of  Uw  onlr  two  copies  known  to  be  now  in  ex- 
isWaiw  was  disron^xyd  in  1:^^  hr  mT  old  and  mneh  ssteeroed 
fmnd  H^arv  8t«T«»aefk  who  was  tb«  first  to  point  ont  its  impor- 
tam*^  Aftvr  tr>in^  in  vain  to  placv  it  in  some  American  librarj, 
Mr.  Sti^viNW  showiKi  it  to  Mr.  Ma^jor.  and  it  fooad  a  place  in  that 
|Ervat««t  of  all  tiv«*ux^^>ho«M*«  for  tlM>  materials  of  American  his- 
t\^v«  thf^  l^tvdi  MttMum.  It  tt  oa»  of  the  most  piectoos  docn- 
MK^at*  in  th«  w\<irKt  S^  Stvn^Wk  iiiitvrtKxU  ami  (M^rapkical 
Siftits  y^  ^i  A^vuk\  M^Jtrtim  ira>»f»ii^'er,pp.  t*)-^ ;  Harriass, 
K<XMcUi<a  .|«Mr«;M«i  r«««^t«n«a.  Nw^  4^  Tha  other  ei^y  is  ia 
the  lMk|^«ml  Uhntfir  al  V 


UUNDU8  N0VU8.  118 

pacios,  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  Colmnbas,  on 
the  coast  of  Jamaica,  were  alike  contending  against 
the  bnfFets  of  adverse  forhme.  People  in  Europe, 
except  the  few  persons  directly  concerned  with  their 
enterprises,  took  little  heed  of  either  of  these  mari- 
ners. The  learned  Giocondo,  if  interrogated  about 
their  doings,  would  prolubly  have  replied  that 
Columbus  had  arrived  at  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia 
by  sailing  westward,  and  that  Yespucius  had  .dis- 
closed the  existence  of  an  Inhabited  World  in  the 
south  temperate  zone  and  in  a  new  and  untried 
direction.  It  surely  would  not  have  occurred  to 
Giocondo  that  the  latter  achievement  came  into 
competition  with  the  former  or  tended  in  any  way 
to  discredit  it. 

The  little  four-leaved  tract,  "Mundus  Novus," 
turned  out  to  be  the  great  literary  success  of  the 
day.  M.  Harrisse  has  described  at  least  eleven 
Latin  editions  probably  published  in 
the  course  of  1504,  and  by  1506  not  less  J^J};f^ 
than  eight  editions  of  German  versions 
had  been  issued.  Intense  curiosity  was  aroused 
by  this  announcement  of  the  existence  of  a  popu- 
lous land  beyond  the  equator  and  CNKKOWN  (could 
such  a  thing  be  possible?)  to  THE  ANCIENTS  1 1 
One  of  the  early  Latin  editions  calls  for  especial 
mention,  by  reason  of  its  title  and  its  editor.  In- 
stead of  the  ordinary  "Mundus  Novus"  we  find, 
as  an  equivalent,  the  significant  title  "De  Ora  Ant- 
arctica," concerning  the  Antarctic  Coast  lately 
discovered  by  the  King  of  Portugal.  This  edition, 
published  at  Strasburg  in  1505,  was  edited  by 
"Master  Singmann  Philesins,"  a  somewhat  pale 


114 


THE  DISCOVSMT  OF  AMERICA. 


Uniyersalior  Cogniti 
JoYmnn  Ru jaoh*t  Hup  of  the  World,  published  August 

^  A  rvnluction  of  A  pArt  of  the  original  map,  in  Rujsch^s  coni- 
cal pmj^ction,  nmy  be  seen  in  Winsor,  Narr,  and  CriL  Hist., 
IT.  8.  As  that  projection  would  be  pualing  to  most  readers,  I 
have  rmluced  it  to  Mercator's.  An  English  translation  of  the 
Tarious  legends  u|)on  the  map  is  here  subjoined :  — 

A«  **  Here  the  sh{p*s  compass  loses  its  propertj,  and  do  Tend 
with  iii»  on  board  Is  able  to  get  away.'* 


MVNDUB  NOV  US. 


Oibii  TabnU. 

13, 1508,  redoeed  to  Ueroator'a  pTojectioD.' 

B.  "  Tiai  iiland  was  eatinly  burnt  ia  1450."     [Sea  abore,  Tol. 

Lp.242.] 
Ci  "  1^  ships  of  Ferdinand,  kin^  of  Spain,  hafe  come  ss  tai 

Mhere."      [See  above,  p.  80.] 
D.  "Haico  Polo  BAja  that  1,400  miles  eastward  from  the 

port  of  Zaiton  tberft  i>  a  Tery  large  island  called  Cipango, 

vlua*  inhabitanta  are  idolaten,  aod  have  their  own  kinf, 


116  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

and  slender  youth  of  two-and-twenty,  who  is  H 
personage  of  much  importance  in  oiu*  narrative. 
ifatthiM  H^  ^^  ^  young  man  of  remarkable 
^*°«°*™-  promise,  a  native  of  Schlestadt,  a  little 
town  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Vosges  moimtains 
in  Alsace.  His  name  was  Matthias  Ringmann, 
but  in  accordance  with  the  prevailing  fashion  he 
was  more  commonly  known  by  a  dog-Latin  epithet, 
Philesius  Yogesigena,  in  allusion  to  his  birth-place. 

and  are  tributary  to  no  one.  Here  is  a  great  abondanoe 
of  g^ld  and  aU  sorts  of  gems.  But  as  the  islands  discov- 
ered by  the  Spaniards  occupy  this  spot,  we  have  not  Ten- 
tured  to  place  this  island  here,  thinking  that  what  the 
Spaniards  call  Spagnola  [Hispaniola,  Hayti]  is  the  same  as 
Cipango,  since  the  things  which  are  described  as  in  Ci- 
pango  are  found  in  Spagnola,  beudes  the  idolatry." 

E.  **  Spanish  sailors  have  come  as  far  as  here,  and  they  call 
this  country  a  New  World  because  of  its  magnitude,  for  in 
truth  they  have  not  seen  it  aU  nor  up  to  the  present  time 
have  they  g^ne  beyond  this  point.  Wherefore  it  is  here 
left  incomplete,  especially  as  we  do  not  know  in  what 
direction  it  goes." 

P,  **This  region,  which  by  many  people  is  believed  to  be 
another  world  {alter  terrarum  or&ts),  is  inhabited  at  differ* 
ent  points  by  men  and  women  who  go  about  either  quite 
naked  or  dad  in  interwoven  twigs  adorned  with  feathers 
of  various  hues.  They  live  for  the  most  part  in  common, 
with  no  religion,  no  king ;  they  carry  on  wars  among  them- 
selves perpetuaUy  and  devour  the  flesh  of  human  captives. 
They  enjoy  a  wholesome  climate,  however,  and  live  to  be 
more  than  140  years  old.  They  are  seldom  sick,  and  then 
are  cured  merely  by  the  roots  of  herbs.  There  are  lions 
here,  and  serpents,  and  other  horrid  wild  beasts.  There 
are  mountains  and  rivers,  and  there  is  the  greatest  abun- 
dance of  gold  and  pearls.  The  Portuguese  have  brought 
from  here  brazil-wood  and  quassia."* 

Q,  **  Portuguese  mariners  have  examined  this  part  of  this 
country,  and  have  g^one  as  far  as  the  50th  degree  of  soatk 
latitude  without  reaching  its  southern  extremity." 


MUNDU8  NOVUS.  117 

He  acquired  an  early  reputation  by  his  graceful 
Latin  verses,  which  sparkled  with  wit  and  could 
sting  if  the  occasion  required  it.  In  1504  Ring- 
mann  was  in  Paris,  studying  at  the  coUege  of  Car- 
dinal  Lemoine,  and  there  he  seems  to  have  become 
acquainted  with  Fra  Giocondo  and  with  the  letter 
of  Vespucius,  a  new  edition  of  which  he  presently 
brought  out  at  Strasburg.  Thus  in  its  zigzag 
career  the  Italian  letter  sent  by  its  writer  from 
Lisbon  to  Florence  was  first  turned  into  Latin  and 
printed  at  Paris,  with  its  phrase  "New  World" 
lifted  up  from  the  text  and  turned  into  a  catching 
title,  by  the  friar  Giocondo,  and  thereupon  a  friend 
of  this  accomplished  friar  sent  it  into  Alsace,  and 
into  a  neighbourhood  where  the  affair  was  soon  to 
enter  into  a  new  stage  of  development. 

We  shall  the  better  understand  that  further  stage 
if  we  pause  to  illustrate,  by  means  of  two  or  three 
early  maps,  just  what  the  phrase  "New  World" 
meant  to  the  men  who  first  used  it.     A  wbataidthe 
glance  at  my  sketch  of  Martin  Behaim's  ^^»o^p, 
globe  1  will  assure  the  reader  that  in  the  "»y  °»««  * 
old  scheme  of  things  there  was  no  place  for  such  a 
coast  as  that  which  Americus  had  lately  explored. 
Such  a  coast  would  start  to  the  east  of  Behaim's 
330th  meridian,  a  little  below  the  equator,  and 
would  run  at  least  as  far  south  as  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  Behaim's  island  of   "Candyn."     No- 
body had  ever  dreamed  of  inhabited  land 
in  such  a  place.     What  could  it  be?  continental 
What  could  be  said  of  its  relations  to 
Asia?    Two  contrasted  opinions  are  revealed  by 

-  See  abore,  vol.  i  p.  422. 


118  THE  DI8C0VJBBT  OF  AMEBICA. 

{he  old  maps.  As  in  the  days  of  Ptolemy  and 
Mela,  we  again  see  a  diy  theory  confronted  by  a 
wet  theory.  Some  supposed  the  ^^Land  of  the 
Holy  Cross ''  to  be  a  southeasterly  projection  from 
the  vast  continental  mass  of  Asia;  others  conceived 
it  as  an  island  of  quasi-continental  dimensions  lying 
to  the  southeast  of  Asia,  somewhat  in  the  position 
actually  occupied  by  Australia.  This  theory  is 
most  vividly  presented  on  the  map  of  the  world  by 
Rn7Mh*smftis  Johauu  Buysch,  in  the  edition  of  Ptol- 
^^  emy  published  at  Rome  in  1508.     This 

is  the  earliest  published  map  that  shows  any  parts 
of  America,  and  it  is  the  first  such  map  that  was 
engraved,  except  perhaps  the  Tabula  Terre  JVbre. 
It  exhibits  a  study  of  many  and  various  sources  of 
information,  and  is  a  very  interesting  sketch  of  the 
earth^s  surface  as  conceived  at  that  time  by  a  truly 
learned  geographer.  In  the  eastern  half  of  his 
map  Ruysoh  is  on  a  pretty  firm  ground  of  know- 
ledge as  far  east  as  the  Granges.  The  relative 
position  of  Sailam  (Ceylon)  is  indicated  with  a  fair 
approach  to  correctness.  Taprobana  (Ptolemy's 
Ceylon)  has  now  become  a  different  island,  appar- 
ently Sumatra;  and  both  this  island  and  Malacca 
are  carried  more  than  a  thousand  miles  too  far  to 
the  south,  probably  from  associations  with  Ptol- 
emy ^s  Cattigara  land.  Curiously  enough,  Ceylon 
(Seylan)  reappears  in  latitude  40°  S.  as  the  veiy 
tip  end  of  Asia.  Coming  now  to  the  western  half 
of  ike  nia|\  we  &id  Sunuutra  tieappearing  as  ^lava 
Minor/^  and  Java  itself  as  "^  lava  Major ''  wildly 
irat  of  pbMM.  Cianlia  (Codiiii  China),  Mangi  and 
Cathay  (aoutkem  and  notthem  China)  are  gxren. 


MUNDUB  N0VU8.  119 

after  Marco  Polo,  with  tolerable  correctness;  but 
Bangala  (Bengal)  is  mixed  up  with  them  on  the 
coast  of  the  Plisacus  Sinus  (Yellow  Sea).  Gog  and 
Magog,  from  the  Catalan  map  of  1375,  are  sepa- 
rated only  by  a  ereat  desert  from  Oreenland,  which 
is  deiricti  witTTtriking  correctness  in  i^  rela. 
tiens  to  Gunnbjom's  Skerries  (at  B)  and  Iceland,  as 
well  as  to  Terra  Nova  (probably  Labrador)  and  I. 
Baccalauras  (Newfoundland).  The  voyages  of  the 
(Jortereals  are  recognized  in  the  name  C.  de  For- 
togesi.  In  rather  startling  proximity  com^  the 
Barbadoes.  The  island  which  terminates  with  the 
scroll  C  probably  represents  the  Florida  of  the 
Cantino  map,  with  which  this  of  Buysch  is  demon* 
strably  connected  by  the  droU  blunder  '^Abatia 
5niu  sactorii  "  on  the  Brazilian  coast.  There  is  no 
mistaking  Spagnola  (Hayti),  which  Buysch  is  still 
inclined  (in  legend  D)  to  identify  mtii  Cipango. 
The  fabulous  AntiUa  is  in  the  same  longitude  as 
npon  Behaim's  globe.  If  now,  contrasting  Buysch 
with  Behaim,  we  observe  the  emergence  of  the 
^^Land  of  the  Holy  Cross,  or  New  World"  from 
the  Atlantic  ocean,  in  place  of  the  fabulous  St. 
Brandan's  isle,  we  cannot  fail  to  see  in  a  moment 
what  was  the  most  huge  and  startling  feature  that 
had  been  added  to  the  map  of  the  world  during  the 
interval  between  1492  and  1507.  And  this  emer- 
gence of  land  from  an  unknown  deep  was  due 
chiefly  to  the  third  voyage  of  Vespucius,  for  the 
short  extent  of  Pearl  Coast  explored  by  Columbus 
in  1498  was  not  enough  to  impress  men's  minds 
with  the  idea  of  a  great  continent  detached  from 
Asia. 


120  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMBBICA. 

So  far  as  "Mundus  Novus"  is  coQcemed,  I  have 
caUed  Buysch's  map  an  exponeo^  of  the  wet  or 

oceanic  theory.  In  its  northern  portion, 
Eiobt,  sir.        however,  where  Greenland  and  I^bra- 

dor  are  joined  to  China,  we  have  the 
continental  or  dry  style  of  theorizing,  very  much 


WesUm  halt  of  tlie  Lenox  globe,  cir.  IGIO. 

after  the  fashion  of  Claudius  Ptolemy.  For  an 
extreme  illustration  of  the  oceanic  style  of  in- 
terpretation we  must  look  to  tlie  Lenox  globe, 
which  was  discovered  in  Paris  about  forty  years 
ago,  and  afterward  found  its  way  into  the  libraiy 


MUNDUS  NOW 8.  121 

of  Mr.  James  Lenox,  of  New  York.  This  is  a 
copper  globe,  about  five  inches  in  diameter,  made 
in  two  sections  which  accurately  fit  together,  mak- 
ing a  spherical  box ;  the  line  of  junction  forms  the 
equator.  The  maker's  name  is  unknown,  but  it  is 
generally  agreed  that  it  must  have  been  made  in 
1510  or  early  in  1511.^  It  is  one  of  the  earliest 
records  of  a  reaction  against  the  theory  that  it 
would  be  possible  to  walk  westward  from  Cuba  to 
Spain  dry-shod.  Here  the  new  discoveries  are  afl 
placed  in  the  ocean  at  a  good  distance  from  the 
continent  of  Asia,  and  all  except  South  America 
are  islands.  The  land  discovered  by  the  Cabots 
appears,  without  a  name,  just  below  the  Arctic  cir-  * 
cle,  with  a  small  vessel  approaching  it  on  the  east. 
Just  above  the  fortieth  parallel  a  big  sea  monster  is 
sturdily  swimming  toward  Portugal.  The  sixtieth 
meridian  west  from  Lisbon  cuts  through  Isabel 
(Cuba)  and  Hayti,  which  are  placed  too  far  north, 
as  on  most  of  the  early  maps.  If  we  compare  the 
position  of  these  islands  here  with  the  imaginary 
Antilia  on  Buysch's  map,  we  shall  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  understanding  how  they  came  to  be  called 
Antilles.  A  voyage  of  about  1, 000  miles  westward, 
from  Isabel,  on  this  Lenox  globe,  brings  us  to  Zi- 
pangri  (Japan),  which  occupies  the  position  actually 
belonging  to  Lower  California.  Immediately 
southeast  of  Japan  begins  a  vast  island  or  quasi- 
continent,  with  the  name  "Terra  do  Brazil"  at  its 
northwestern  Extremity.    The  general  name  of  this 

^  There  is  a  description  of  the  Lenox  globe  by  Dr.  De  Costa, 
in  Magazine  of  American  History ,  September,  1879,  ToL'^iiL  pp. 
529-54a 


J 


122  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

whole  portion  cf  the  earth  is  ^^Mundus  Novas''  oi 
^^  Terra  Sanctaa  Crucis."  The  purely  hypothetical 
character  of  the  western  coast-line  is  confessed  by 
the  dots.  The  maker  knew  nothing  of  the  exist* 
ence  of  the  Pacific  ocean  and  nothing  of  Sooth 
America  except  the  northern  and  eastern  coasts; 
he  had  no  means  of  proving  that  it  did  not  extend 
as  solid  land  all  the  way  to  Asia;  but  his  general 
adherence  to  the  wet  iheoiy,  i.  e.  his  general  dis« 
position  to  imagine  water  rather  than  land  in  the 
unknown  regions,  led  him  to  give  it  a  western 
boundary.  He  would  probably  have  called  it  a 
vast  island  in  the  Atlantic  ocean.  Observe  that 
the  eastern  coast  seems  to  be  known  as  far  as  lati- 
tude 50^  S.  and  beyond,  and  a  notable  eastward 
twist  at  ^.  extreit,  .eenu.  iBtended  to  include 
the  ice-bound  coast  where  Yespucius  turned  back 
m  1502. 

The  Buysch  map  and  the  Lenox  globe  illustrate 
sufficiently  the  various  views  of  those  who  were  in* 
dined  to  imagine  the  region  we  call  South  America 
as  separated  from  Asia  by  water.  In  the  globe 
we  have  an  extreme  instance  of  oceanic  theoiy,  in 
Ruyseh  a  kind  of  compromise.  Now  for  an  in« 
stance  of  the  opposite  or  continental  theory  we 
cannot  do  better  than  cite  a  very  remarkable  globe» 
made,  indeed,  a  quarter  of  a  centuiy  later  than 
Kingmann's  edition  of  the  '^Mundus  Novus,"  but 
Mtaining  the  earlier  views  in  spite  of  more  recent 

discoveries.      This  globe  was  made  in 
ortmuu*  n.     1531,  by  Oronee  Fine,  better  known  as 

Orontius  Finteus,  a  native  of  Dauphiny, 
professor  of  mathematics  in  the  College  Boyal  da 


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124  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

France.  In  his  mathematics  Orontius,  though 
clever,  was  decidedly  unsound;  ^  but  his  knowledge 
of  geography  was  extensive  and  minute.  One 
of  the  chief  points  of  interest  in  his  globe  is  the 
conservatism  with  which  it  presents  a  geographical 
theoiy  derived  from  Ptolemy  and  dovetails  into  it 
the  new  discoveries.^  This  makes  it  excellent  tes- 
timony to  the  views  of  the  continentalists,  if  I  may 
so  call  them,  in  the  time  of  Buysch' s  map  and  the 
Lenox  globe.  The  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that 
before  Orontius  made  his  globe,  Mexico  had  been 
discovered  and  conquered,  the  Pacific  ocean  had 
been  discovered  and  crossed,  the  Peruvian  coast 
had  been  explored  as  far  as  latitude  10*^  S.,  the 
North  American  coast  had  been  followed  from 
Labrador  to  Florida,  and  Portuguese  sailors  had 
found  their  way  around  Malacca  to  the  coast  of 
China.  Yet  so  far  was  Orontius  from  assimilat- 
ing the  unwieldy  mass  of  facts  so  rapidly  thrust 
before  the  mind,  that  we  find  him  unable  to  sur- 
render the  preconceived  theory  —  conmion  to  him 
with  many  other  geographers  —  which  made  what 
we  call  South  America  a  huge  peninsula  jutting 

^  He  belieyed  that  he  had  discovered  how  to  square  the  cirole 
and  trisect  angles,  "  ce  qui  est  un  pen  scandalenx  de  la  part 
d*un  professenr  dn  Goll^g^  Royal  de  France,"  says  Delambrs, 
Astronomie  du  Moyen  Age^  p.  400. 

^  A  donble-hearted  map  representing  this  globe,  with  north- 
em  and  southern  hemispheres  each  on  a  polar  projection,  was 
published  in  GrynsBus,  Novus  Orhisy  Paris,  1531.  It  is  reproduced 
by  Henry  Stevens,  in  his  Historical  and  Gtographical  Notes,  Lon- 
don, 1869.  Stevens  also  gives  a  reduction  of  it  to  Mereaton^s 
projection,  after  which  I  have  made  my  simplified  sketch.  For 
the  sake  of  clearness  I  have  omitted  many  details  which  have 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  purpose  for  which  it  18  hen 


BfUNDUa  N0VU8.  125 

out  southeasterly  from  Asia.  This,  I  say,  was  the 
dry  or  Ptolemaic  way  of  conceiving  the  position 
of  ^'Mundus  Novus,'*  as  Kuysch's  was  the  wet  or 
Mela-like  way  of  conceiving  it. 

Starting  now  from  the  prime  meridian  and  from 
the  top  o^the  map,  we  may  observe  that  Orontius 
has  a  fairly  good  idea  of  the  relations  between 
Greenland    and    Baccalar    (Labrador-Newfound- 
land).   Florida  and  the  northern  part  of  the  gulf 
of  Mexico  are  quite  well  depicted.     Observe  the 
positions  of  the  Bio  de  Santo  Espiritu  (the  Missis- 
sippi), the  B.  Panuco,  and  the  Bio  de  Alvarado,  as 
well  as  of  Temisteta  (the  city  of  Mexico);  they  are 
given  with  a  fair  approach  to  correctness.     But 
observe  also  that  these  places  are  supposed  to  be  in 
China,  and  there  is  Cambaluc  (Peking)  about  1,000 
miles  distant  from  the  city  of  Mexico,  slightly  to 
west  of  north!    As  for  Parias  (i.  e.  Lariab),  which 
the  early  maps  sometimes  correctly  place  by  the 
river  Panuco,   but  which  is  oftener  confounded 
with  Paria  and  placed  near  the  island  of  Grenada, 
the  worthy  Orontius  makes  a  compromise,  and  it 
stands  here  for  what  we  call   Central   America. 
And  now  we  come  to  the  most  instructive  feature 
of  the  map.     The  Mexican  peninsula  being  rep- 
resented as  part  of  Asia,  the  ^^Mundus 
Novus,"  here  called  America,  is  repre-  cattS^f 
sented  as  a  further  offshoot  from  Asia.   "America" 
But  this  is  not  all.     In  the  theory  of  t^^of 
Orontius  America  is  evidently  a  part  of  T'Tro^ncog- 
the  Terra  Inco^^nita  by  which  Ptolemy  southern 
unagmed  Asia  to  be  joined  to  Africa, 
enclosing  the  Indian  ocean.     This  is  proved  by 


126  THE  DISCOVEBT  OF  AMEBIC  A, 

Uie  position  of  the  name  Cattigara»  Tsvliioh  ooenm 
in  the  same  latitude  at  the  easternmost  verge  of 
Ptolemy's  world;  and  it  is  farther  illustrated  by 
the  bits  of  antarctic  continent  labelled  ^^Segio 
Patalis"  and  ^'Brazielie  Begio"  (I)  peeping  up 
from  the  lower  border.  The  '^Mare  Magellani- 
eum,"  or  Pacific  ocean,  was  to  the  mind  of  Qron- 
tius  only  ahuge  gulf  in  a  landlocked  Indian  ocean ! 
This  notion  of  an  antarctic  continent  coming  well 
up  into  the  southern  temperate  zone  may  be  seen 
upon  many  maps,  and  it  survived  into  the  seven- 
teenth  century.^  It  was  probably  a  reminiscence 
of  both  Ptolemy  and  Mela,  of  Ptolemy's  Terra 
Incognita  and  Mela's  Antichthon  or  Opposite- 
Eai*th.  Mela's  idea  that  Taprobane,  or  some  such 
point  eastward  in  Asia,  formed  an  entrance  to  this 
antipodal  world  ^  was  very  nearly  in  haimony  with 
the  suggestion,  upon  Ptolemy's  map,  that  one  might 
go  thitiier  from  Cattigara.3  In  this  southern 
world,  according  to  Mela's  doctrine  of  the  zones, 
the  course  of  things  was  quite  contrary  to  that  with 
which  we  are  familiar.     Shadows  feU  to  the  souths 

^  See  for  example  tibe  maps  of  Agnese,  1586,  and  GJastaMi, 
1548,  below,  pp.  496,  497.  On  the  gretX  influence  of  Ptolemy  and 
Mela  in  the  sixteenth  century,  there  are  some  good  remarks  in 
Thomassy,  Le»  Pcqtn  ^{ographes  et  la  cartographie  "du  Vatieanf 
Paris,  1852. 

^  See  abore,  vol.  L  p.  308. 

'  Orontius  was  not  alone  in  identifying  the  New  World  with 
Ptolemy's  Cattigara  land.  The  name  recurs  upon  old  maps,  as 
e.  g.  the  French  mappemonde  of  about  1540,  now  in  the  Britisk 
Museum.  It  is  given  in  Winsor,  Ncurr.  and  Crit,  HisU  viii.  388l 
In  this  map,  made  after  the  discovery  of  Peru  had  had  time  to 
take  effect,  the  name  Cattigara  is  simply  pushed  southward  intt 
Qiiliaii  inrritory. 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  127 

it  was  summer  in  December  and  winter  in  June, 
and  the  cold  increased  as  you  went  Meia*s  aatipo. 
southward.  Mela  had  even  heard  that  ^^"^®^- 
somewhere  out  in  ^^ India,"  on  the  way  toward  this 
mysterious  region,  the  Greater  and  Lesser  Bears 
disappeared  from  the  sky.^  In  the  Middle  Ages 
there  was  more  or  less  discussion  as  to  the  possible 
existence  of  such  an  antipodal  world  as  Mela  had 
described ;  and  among  the  clergy  there  was  a 
strong  disposition  to  condemn  the  iheoiy  on  the 
ground  that  it  implied  the  existence  of  a  race  of 
men  cut  ofE  (by  an  impassable  torrid  zone)  from  ihe 
preaching  of  the  gospel.  The  notion  of  this  fiery 
cone  was  irretrievably  damaged  when  the  Portu- 
guese circumnavigated  Africa;  it  was  finally  de- 
molished by  the  third  voyage  of  Yespucius.  Many 
things  seen  upon  that  voyage  must  have  recalled 
Mela's  antipodal  world  with  startling  vividness. 
It  is  true  that  the  characteristics  of  the  southern 
temperate  zone  had  been  to  some  extent  observed 
in  Africa.  But  to  encounter  them  in  a  still  greater 
degree  and  in  the  western  ocean  on  the  way  to 
Asia,  upon  ihe  coast  of  a  vast  country  which  no 
one  could  call  by  name,  was  quite  another  affair. 
That  it  did  not  &ul  to  suggest  Ptolemy's  Terra  In- 
cognita is  proved  by  the  position  of  Cattigara  and 
the  general  conception  of  the  Indian  ocean  upon 
the  globe  of  Orontius;  and  for  those  who  pre- 
ferred Mela's  wet  theory  it  was  fair  to  suppose 

^  De  Situ  Orbit,  lib.  iii.  cap.  7 ;  probably  a  misnndentanding  of 
the  rery  different  statement  reported  by  Strabo  (ii.  1,  §  19),  that 
in  the  sonthem  part  of  India  tbe  Gbeater  and  Lesser  Bears  ar« 
sseBtdMti 


128  THE  DISCOVEBY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

that  the  ^^Mundus  Novus  "  as  given  upon  Ruysch's 
map  was  the  entrance  to  that  geographer's  antipo- 
dal world.  From  a  passage  interpolated  in  the 
Latin  text  of  the  Nuremberg  Chronicle  (1493)  we 
learn  that  this  supposed  antipodal  world  in  the 
itwMtome-  southern  hemisphere  was  sometimes 
H'SSSl^  called  "Quarta  Pars."  1  Europe,  Asia, 
^**^"  and  Africa  were  the  three  parts  of  the 

earth,  and  so  this  opposite  region,  hitherto  un- 
known, but  mentioned  by  Mela  and  indicated  by 
Ptolemy,  was  the  Fourth  Part.  We  can  now 
begin  to  understand  the  intense  and  wildly  absorb- 
ing interest  with  which  people  read  the  brief  stoiy 
of  the  third  voyage  of  Vespucius,^  and  we  can  see 

^  "  Extra  tree  pies  orb :  i^rta  8  pa  trSsocceanS  HerioroT  meridie 
fl  sol'  arderib*  nob*  inoognita  8 :  f  oai*  finib*  antipodes  f  abolooe 
babitare  dicnntnr/'  Hankse,  BiUiotheca  Americana  Vehutit* 
stsia,  p.  40. 

^  When  we  remember  bow  maob  ibeological  discussion  tbere 
bad  been  with  regard  to  an  antipodal  world  beyond  the  equator, 
we  can  i^preoiate  the  startling  effect  of  the  simple  right-angled 
triangle  with  which  Americus  illustrated  the  statement  that  he 
had  sailed  over  an  arc  of  90°  from  Lisbon  to  a  point  where  the 
zenith  corresponded  to  Lisbon's  horixon :  —  '*  Igitur  ut  dixi  ab 
Olysippo,  unde  digreasi  sumus,  quod  ab  linea  equinoctiali  distat 
gradibus  trigintanouem  semis  nauigavimus  rltra  lineadi  eqninoc- 
tialem  per  quinquaginta  gradus  qui  simul  juncti  efBciunt  gradua 
circiter  nonaginta,  que  summa  eam  quartam  partem  obteniat 
snmmi  cirouli,  secundum  reram  mensure  rationem  ab  antiquis 
nobis  traditam,  manifestum  est  nos  nauigasse  quartam  mundi 
partem.  £t  hao  ratione  noe  Olysippum  habitantes  citra  lineam 
eqninoctialem  gradu  trig^esimo  nono  semis  in  latitodine  septentrio- 
nali  snmus  ad  illos  qui  gradu  quingenteeimo  habitant  vltra  eandem 
lineam  in  meridionali  latitudine  angulariter  gradus  quinque  in 
linea  transuersali :  et  vt  clarius  inteUigas :  Perpendicularis  linea 
que  dum  recti  stamus  a  puncto  celi  imminente  vertici  noatro 
dependet  in  caput  noatmm :  illia  dependet  in  datua  [read  latus] 
Tel  in  coatas.    Quo  fit  vt  nos  simus  in  linea  recta :  ipai  Tero  in 


MUNDU8  NOW 8. 


129 


that  in  the  nature  of  that  interest  there  was  nothing 
calculated  to  bring  it  into  comparison  with  the 
work  of  Columbus.  The  two  navigators  were  not 
regarded  88  rivals  in  doing  the  same  thing,  but  as 
men  who  had  done  two  very  different  things;  and 
to  give  credit  to  the  one  was  by  no  means  equiva- 
lent to  withholding  credit  from  the  other. 

The  last  point  which  we  are  called  upon  to  ob- 
serve in  the  Orontius  globe  is  the  occurrence  of  the 
name  Amebica  in  place  of  the  Mundus  socoewiTo 
NovuB  of    the   Ruysch  map  and    the  wS^^^ 
Lenox  globe.     Thus  in  about  a  quarter  ^°^^ 
of  a  century  the  first  stage  in  the  development 
of  the  naming  of   America  had  been  completed* 
That  stage  consisted   of  five   distinct   steps:     1. 
Americus  called  the  regions  visited  by  him  beyond 

linea  transaersa,  et  species  fiat  triangtili  oithogoni,  cujus  vicem 
linee  teoemus  cathete  ipsi  aatem  basis  et  hipotenusa  a  nostro 
ad  iUomm  pretenditur  vertioem :   yt  in  figura  patet. 

vertex  capitiB  nortri. 


Mundus   NovtUj  1504,  apnd  Vamhageii,  p.  24.    The  Venetian 
version  introduces  the  above  paragraph  with  the  heading,*— 
*^  Forma  dela  qnarta  parte  de  la  terra  retrouata.'' 


180  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

the  equator  a  **  new  world  "  because  tliey  were  un- 
known to  the  ancients;  2.  Giooondo  made  tilis 
striking  phrase  Mundus  Noims  into  a  title  for  his 
translation  of  the  letter,  which  he  published  at 
Paris  while  the  writer  was  absent  from  Europe 
and  probably  without  his  knowledge;^  3.  the 
name  Mundus  Novus  got  plaeed  upon  several  maps 
as  an  equivalent  for  Terra  Sanct»  Crucis,  or  what 
we  call  Brazil;  4.  the  suggestion  was  made  that 
Mundus  Novus  was  the  Fourth  Part  of  the  earth, 
and  might  properly  be  named  America^  after  its 
discoverer;  5.  the  name  America  thus  got  plaeed 
upon  several  maps  as  an  equivalent  for  what  we 
eall  Brazil,  and  sometimes  came  to  stand  alone  as 
an  equivalent  for  what  we  call  South  America, 
but  still  signified  only  a  part  of  the  dry  land 

BEYOND  THE  ATLANTIC  TO  WHICH  COLUMBUS  HAD 

LED  THE  WAY.  We  have  described  the  first  three 
of  these  steps,  and  it  is  now  time  to  say  something 
alH>ut  the  fourth  and  fifth. 

Bon<5  IL«  do  Vaudemont^  reigning  Duke  of  Lor- 
raine, and  titular  King  of  Sicily  and  Jerusalem  — 
the  **  blue-eyed  gentle  Ren^'*  who  with  the  aid  of 
stinit  Swiss  halWnls  overthrew  Charles  the  Bold 
ii<w*  It  of  ^^  Nancy  in  1477  —  was  an  enthusiastic 
*'*'**^  patron  of  literature  and  the  arts,  and  at 
his  little  tiL>wn  of  Saint-I>ii\  nestling  in  one  of 
t)H>se  quiet  valloTs  in  the  Vosges  mountains  which 
the  U^autiful  tales  of  Erckmann-Chatrian  have  in- 


'  S»n^  V<m|H»n«t  wmi  m  ntficfd  n»  witftibold  lib  Vc»ok  from  tbe 
rMM  «iNfl  li^  <v>wkl  luiTi»  liiimi  fifk  ivviw  in  1  am  iacfiMd  to  be- 
IWx^  tiuii  if  Iw  Im4  k^^  mki^  Qinwdln  wim  ^mmg  ht  ^wld 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  131 

vested  with  imperishable  charm,  there  was  a  college. 
The  town  had  grown  up  about  a  Benedictine  mon- 
astery founded  in  the  seventh  centuiy  by  St.  De- 
odatus,  bishop  of  Nevers.  Toward  the  end  of  the 
tenth  centuiy  this  monastery  was  secularized  and 
its  government  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  collegiate 
chapter  of  canons  under  the  presidency  of  a  mitred 
prelate  whose  title  was  Grand  Provost.  The 
chapter  was  feudal  lord  of  the  neigh-  me  town  of 
bouring  demesnes,  and  thus  as  the  pop-  ^*^^^ 
nlation  increased  under  its  mUd  rule  there  grew  up 
tiie  small  town  in  whose  name  Deodatus  suffered 
contraction  into  JDiL^  It  is  now  a  place  of  some 
8,000  inhabitants,  the  seat  of  a  bishopric,  and 
noted  for  its  grain  and  cattle  markets,  its  fine  linen 
fabrics,  and  its  note-paper.  From  the  lofty  peaks 
that  tower  above  the  town  you  can  almost  catch 
sight  of  Speyer  where  Protestantism  first  took  its 
name,  while  quite  within  the  range  of  vision  come 
Strasburg,  associated  with  the  invention  of  print- 
ing, Freiburg  with  that  of  gunpowder,  and  Vau- 
couleurs  in  the  native  country  of  the  Maid  of  Or- 
leans. The  college  of  Saint-Di6  was  curiously 
associated  with  the  discovery  of  America,  for  it 
was  there  that  toward  1410  the  Cardinal  Pierre 
d'Ailly  wrote  his  "Imago  Mundi,"the  book  which 
so  powerfully  influenced  the  thoughts  of  Columbus. 
At  the  end  of  that  century  there  were  several  emi- 
nent men  among  the  canons,  as  Pierre  de  Blarru, 
author  of  the  local  heroic  poem  the  ^^4^,^^^ 
**Nanc^ide,'*  Jean  Basin  de  Sendacour, 
of  whom  we  shall  have  more  to  say  presently,  and 

^  AyezaOy  Martin  WaUxem'uUer,  p.  12. 


182  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Duke  Bend's  secretary,  Walter  Lud.  Under  the 
auspices  of  the  latter  a  printing  press  was  set  up 
at  Saint-Die  about  the  year  1500,  and  so  maiiy 
learned  men  came  to  the  college  that  Pico  della 
Mirandola  wondered  how  such  a  society  could  ever 
have  been  brought  together  in  so  obscure  a  town. 
One  of  the  lights  of  this  little  society  was  the  bril- 
liant and  witty  young  Eingmann,  who  returned 
from  Paris  in  1505  and  accepted  a  professorship 
of  Latin  at  Saint-Di^.  About  the  same  time  an- 
Martin  Waid-  ^^^^  youug  man  of  threc-and-twenty  or 
•eemmtor.  g^^  named  Martin  Waldseemiiller,^  a 
native  of  Freiburg  in  the  Breisgau,  was  appointed 
professor  of  geography  at  Saint-Di^,  and  an  inti- 
mate friendship  sprang  up  between  him  and  Ring- 
mann.  The  latter  had  acquired  while  at  Paris, 
and  probably  through  his  acquaintance  with  Fra 
Giocondo,  a  warm  admiration  for  Vespucius,  and 
published,  as  we  have  already  seen,  in  1505  a 
Latin  yersion  of  the  letter  to  Medici,  under  the 
title  ''De  Ora  Antarctica." 

Now  Vespucius  wrote  his  second  epistle,  the  one 
to  Soderini  giving  a  brief  account  of  his  four  voy- 
ages, at  Lisbon,  September  4^  1504,  and  Soderini 
^^^  had  a  certified  MS.  copy  of  it  made 

■taiof  um       Fobniarj- 10,  1505.^    From  that  magis- 
AMMkuaio     trate's  hands  it  afterward  passed  into 
those  of  the  puMisher  Pacini,  for  whom 
it  was  printed  at  Florence  before  July  9,  1506. 

^  Tli^  famiW  murm  w<mi  to  Kat^  )»««  WaltanBiQer.  but  ha 
•lw«>ii  fwf^rriNl  u%  vnti^  it  Wa>dw<»iU*r.  He  vaa  mora  eam* 
MNHilr  kiftk^mm  bv  kin  Ht«nunr  wuhm  UTlaie«aBiThM. 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  188 

From  this  Italian  original,  of  wliich  I  Iiave  men* 
tioned  five  copies  as  still  existing,  somebody  made 
a  French  version  of  which  no  copy  is  now  to  be 
foimd.  Walter  Lud  tells  us  that  a  copy  of  this 
French  version  was  obtained  directly  from  Portugal 
for  the  litde  group  of  scholars  at  Saint-Di^.  This 
copy  could  not  have  come  from  Vespucius  himself, 
who  before  February  10,  1505,  had  left  Portugal 
forever,  and  on  the  5th  of  that  month  was  making 
a  friendly  visit  to  Colmnbus  at  Seville.  There  is 
nothing  to  indicate  the  existence  of  any  personal 
relations  or  acquaintanceship  between  Vespucius 
and  any  of  the  people  at  Saint-Di^. 

The  French  version  of  the  letter  to  Soderini  ar- 
rived at  Saint-Di6  just  as  Lud  and  Ringmann  and 
WaldseemiiUer  had  matured  their  plans  ^^ 

for  a  new  edition  of  Ptolemy,  revised  new  edition 

,  •'  o£  Ptolemy. 

and  amended  so  as  to  include  the  re- 
sults of  recent  discovery.  The  strong  interest  felt 
in  geographical  studies  during  the  latter  half  of 
the  fifteenth  century  was  shown  in  the  publication 
of  six  Latin  editions  of  Ptolemy  between  1472  and 
1490.^  Before  1606  the  rapid  progress  of  discov- 
ery had  made  all  these  editions  antiquated,  and  our 
friends  at  Saint-Di^  proposed  to  issue  one  that 
should  quite  throw  into  the  shade  all  that  had  gone 
before.^  Walter  Lud,  who  was  blessed  with  ,a  long 
purse,  undertook  to  defray  the  expenses;  Wald- 

1  At  Bologrna,  1472;  Yicenza,  1475;  Rome,  1478  and  1490; 
Ulm,  1482  and  1486 ;  all  except  that  of  Yicenza  proyided  with 
engrayed  maps.     Ayexao,  Martin  Wakzemuller,  p.  23. 

^  Jost  at  the  same  time  another  little  gronp  of  scholars  at 
Vienna  were  similarly  at  work  on  a  new  edition  of  PompomoB 
Mela. 


184  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

aeemiiller  superintended  the  scientific  part  of  the 
work  and  Ringmann  the  philological  part,  for  the 
sake  of  which  he  made  a  journey  to  Italy  and  ob- 
tained from  a  nephew  of  the  great  Pico  della  Mi- 
randola  an  important  manuscript  of  the  Greek 
text.  Duke  Bene,  who  was  much  interested  in  the 
scheme,  gathered  rare  data  from  yarious  quarters 
and  seems  to  have  paid  for  the  engraving  of  Wald- 
seemiiUer's  map  entitled  Tabula  Terre  Nove^ 
TheFrench  which  was  to  acoompauy  the  new  edi- 
iSS^\^  tion.  Early  in  1507  Waldseemiiller 
invoLfttin.  j^  finished  a  small  treatise  intended  as 
an  introduction  to  the  more  elaborate  work  which 
he  was  embodying  in  the  edition  of  Ptolemy,  and 
it  was  decided  to  print  this  treatise  at  once  on  the 
college  press.  Just  in  the  nick  of  time  Duke 
Ren^  handed  over  to  the  professors  the  letter  of 
Vespucius  in  its  French  version,  which  he  had 
lately  obtained  from  PortugaL  It  was  forthwith 
turned  into  Latin  by  the  worthy  canon  Jean  Basin 
de  Sendacour,  who  improved  the  situation  by  ad- 
dressing his  version  to  his  enlightened  sovereign 
Ben^  instead  of  Soderini,  thus  bemuddling  the 
minds  of  posterity  for  ever  so  long  by  making 
Vespucius  appear  to  address  the  Duke  of  Lorraine 
as  his  old  schoolmate!  ^ 

This  Latin  versicm,  containing  that  innocent  but 

^  The  error  liM  been  farthered  by  the  abhreTuttioii  vosfra  Mag. 
L  e. ''  your  Mignifieenoe/*  the  proper  fonn  of  addrees  for  the 
chief  Tmifiiitnite  of  Florenee.  It  has  bee«  mtsreftd  **  your  M*- 
jeety,**  a  proper  form  of  addrees  for  Rea4,  who  waa  titular  Kia^ 
•f  Si«ily  and  Jeivealeai.  Now  that  we  kaow  how  it  happened, 
it  it  eaiiana  to  ate  llaniboldt  steragirl^  ^^  *^  sabject  in  hii 
JKraaNTfl  rriH^mt,  torn.  it.  pp.  lOK  US,  16d. 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  186 

baneful  blander  of  Parias  instead  of  Lariaby  the 
source  of  so  much  misunderstanding  and  so  much 
unjust  aspersion,  was  appended  to 
WaldseemiiUer's  little  treatise,  along  graphic  irun^ 
With  some  verses  by  Kmgmann  m  praise 
of  the  great  Florentine  navigator.  The  book,  en- 
titled "Cosmographie  Introductio,"  was  first  pub- 
lished at  Saint-Di^  on  the  25th  of  April,  1507. 
The  only  copy  of  this  edition  known  to  exist  at 
present  was  picked  up  for  a  franc  on  one  of  the 
Ruris  quays  by  the  geographer  Jean  Baptiste 
Eyries;  upon  his  death  in  1846,  it  was  bought  at 
auction  for  160  francs  by  Nicolas  Y^m^niz,  of 
Lyons;  upon  the  death  of  Y^m^niz  in  1867,  it  wns 
bought  for  2,000  francs;  and  it  may  now  be  seen 
in  the  Lenox  Library  at  New  York.^  Three  other 
editions  were  published  in  1507,  concerning  which 
there  is  no  need  of  entering  into  particulars.^  The 
copy  in  the  library  of  Harvard  University,  which 
I  havOi  now  before  me,  was  published  August  29, 
1507,  —  a  little  quarto  of  fifty-two  leaves.'  Mr. 
Winsor  mentions  eighteen  or  twenty  copies  of  it  as 
still  in  existence,  but  in  1867  a  copy  was  sold  for 
2,000  francs,  the  same  price  paid  that  year  for  the 
first  edition ;  in  1884  a  copy  in  Munich  was  held 
at  3,000  marks,  equivalent  to  750  dollars. 

In  this  rare  book  occurs  the  first  suggestion  of 
the  name  America.  After  having  treated  of  the 
division  of  the  earth's  inhabited  surface  into  three 

i  WiMor,  Narr,  and  CrU.  Hist,,  iL  166. 

^  They  aro  described  in  Avezao,  Martin  WaltzemuUer,  pp.  28- 
59;  Harriase,  Bibl,  Amer.  Vetust,,  pp.  89-06;  Additions,  pp.  2&- 
34 ;  and  mora  briefly  mentioiied  in  Winsor,  loc,  dt, 

>  U  is  No.  46  in  HankK,  JBiU  ilm«r.  Vttust. 


186  THE  DiaCOVEUY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

parts — Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  — Waldseemiiller 
speaks  of  the  discovery  of  a  Fourth  Part,  and  the 
passage  is  of  so  much  historic  interest  that  instead 
of  a  mere  transcription  the  reader  wiU  doubtless 
prefer  to  see  a  photograph  of  that  part  of  the  page 
in  our  Harvard  copy.^    It  is  as  follows:  — 

Nuncvcfo  &hef  partes  fiintlatmsliiflxatae/S^ 
alu  qnana  paisper  Amctjcu  Vclpudiiiiic  vt  tofe^ 
qaentibus  audietiudiQuencaelbquanonvideo  cat 
quis  iiire  vctrt  ab  Americo  inttcntove  fitgads  inge 
HI)  viro  Ameijgcn  cjuafii^meridicnam/Iiae  Ame 
zicamdicendamtciim  8C  Europa  &  Afiaainulkil^ 
bus  (uaibrdta  Gnt  nomina.Eius  Cm  8c  gentis  ino# 
acs  czJbisbinuiAineridiiauigatiDiubiis  quf  ieqiia 
jturliquideintdligidajtittv 

Or,  in  English:  —  "But  now  these  parts  have 
been  more  extensively  explored  and  another  fourth 
^^^^jjj^  part  has  been  discovered  by  Americus 
SjlrtlriNfr*  Vespuoius  (as  will  appear  in  what  f ol- 
^UMwilfr.  lows):  wherefore  I  do  not  see  what  is 
*^  rightly  to  hinder  us  from    calling  it 

Amerigo  or  America^  i.  e.  the  land  of  Americus, 
aft^^r  its  diseoveror  Americuss  a  man  of  sagacious 
mind«  ^mv  U>th  Europe  and  Asia  have  got  their 
iiame$  f  iwm  wvanen«*    Its  situation  and  the  man- 


^  It  l»  immmwKm  r(<A«Md  ti>  fit  MTttarroivw  crovm  oelmvo  pag«> 
TW  li^m^  <^Miiattik»  WMClMtr  f>»M»n»  ui  vW4   \»friri  k  nen- 

KitW  kiM^m  «>  luwi^  ft»  »»  <Mi»  lua  wA  Mwwt  iiini^w  why 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  137 

ners  and  customs  of  its  people  will  be  clearly  un- 
derstood from  the  twice  two  voyages  of  Americus 
which  follow." 

wife  of  Promethens.  Hesiod  (Theog.,  350)  makes  her  a  daughter 
of  OceaBos  and  Tethys.  Geographieally  the  name  seems  to  have 
had  an  especial  reference  to  a  small  district  about  the  Cayster 
in  Lydia  (.^Isohylus,  Prometheus^  411 ;  Pindar.  Olyntp.j  vii.  33). 
In  its  most  common  Greek  usag-e  it  meant  Asia  Minor,  but  by 
the  time  of  Herodotus  it  had  already  begnn  to  be  extended  into 
the  dim  yastness  of  continent  behind  that  peninsula. 

Much  better  known  than  the  mythic  personality  of  the  female 
Asia  is  that  of  Europa,  daughter  of  Agenor  (Hegesippus,  Fragm., 
6),  or  of  Tityos  (Pindar,  Pyth.,  iy.),  or  of  Phoroneus  (see  PreUer, 
Grieckische  Mythohgie,  u,  37).  This  greater  celebrity  is  due  to 
her  escapade  with  Zeus,  about  which  so  many  yersea  have  been 
written.  Every  reader  remembers  the  exquisite  picture  in  Ten- 
nyson's Palace  of  Art.  Less  generally  known  are  the  charming 
lines  of  Reynolds :  — 

^  We  gmthered  wood  flowers, — some  Uue  as  the  rein 
O'er  Hero's  eyelid  etealiiig,  and  some  ss  white. 
In  the  dostering  gnus,  as  rich  Europa'e  hand 
Nested  amid  the  curls  on  Jupiter's  forehead, 
Wbbt  time  he  snatched  her  through  the  startled  wares.'* 

Garden  of  Florencty  London,  1821. 

As  for  this  Europa,  Herodotus  is  sure  that  she  neyer  set  foot  in 
Europe ;  and  as  for  Libya  he  knows  nothing  except  that  she  was 
a**natiye*'  woman.  "Howler,*'  he  wisely  concludes,  "let  us 
quit  these  matters.  We  shall  ourselyes  continue  to  use  the  names 
which  custom  sanctions  "  (Rawlinson's  Herodotus^  yol.  iii.  p.  33). 
There  was  really  nothing  like  uniformity  of  tradition  in  the 
mythical  interpretations  of  these  geographical  names.  Nor  were 
they  always  feminine,  for  in  Eustathius  (Comm,  in  Dionys.  Perieg., 
170)  we  read  of  Europus,  Asius,  and  Libyus.  Of  course  all  these 
explanations  got  the  cart  before  the  horse ;  the  continents  were  not 
named  after  the  persons,  but  the  persons  were  eponymous  myths 
inrented  to  explain  the  names  of  the  continents.  Professor  Raw- 
linson*s  opinion  is  highly  probable,  that  both  Europe  and  Aria  are 
Semitic  words  which  passed  to  the  Greeks  from  the  Phoenicians. 

Ewrope  seems  to  be  the  Hebrew  ^*?.^)  Assyrian  €re&,  Arabic 
gharh  (whence  Arab)^  meaning  "the  setting'*  and  "the  wesf 
(cf.  Latin  occidentf  Italian  ponente) ;  while  Asia  seems  to  be  a 


188  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

Such  were  the  winged  words  but  for  which,  as 
M.  Harrisse  reminds  us,  the  western  hemisphere 
might  have  come  to  be  known  as  Atlantis,  or  Hes- 

perides,  or  Santa  Cruz,  or  New  India,  or 
mhea!^  perhaps  Coliunbia.  There  was  not 
named  after     much  likelihood,  howcver,  of  its  fi^ettine 

named  after  Columbus,  because  long 
before  the  distinct  and  separate  existence  of  the 
western  hemisphere  was  so  much  as  suspected,  the 
names  had  taken  root  in  its  soil,  and  before  that 
time  it  would  not  have  occurred  to  anybody  to 
name  it  after  Coliunbus,  for  the  sufficient  reason 
that  it  had  two  good  names  already,  vie.  ^^Asia" 
and  ^^the  Indies."  Separate  islands  and  stretches 
of  coast  received  their  local  names,  as  Hispaniola 
or  Veragua,  but  no  one  thought  of  proposing  a 
new  name  for  the  whole  western  world. 

participial  form  of  Hebrew  Kt^^i  Assyrian  Axvl,  meaning^  *'  the 
rising'*  and  *^the  east"  (cf.  Latin  oritns^  Italian  Uvante),  In 
the  days  when  PhcBnicia  ruled  the  waye,  the  sailors  of  Tyre  and 
Sidon  probably  called  the  opposite  coasts  of  the  JE^etm  sea 
Europe  and  Asia  =  west  and  eas^f  and  the  Greeks  acquired  the 
habit  of  using  these  names,  just  as  they  acquired  so  many  other 
words  and  ideas  from  the  Phcsnicians.  This  seems  to  me  down- 
right common  sense.  —  As  for  the  name  Libfa,  it  strongly  sng- 
gvets  X(^  V*p9)  or  \lfia  (liha),  the  southwest  wind  (Aristotle, 
Meifitroi.,  ii.  0,  7 ;  cf.  Theocritus,  ix.  11),  which  the  R<mians  called 
4/riciis  (Seneca,  Quasi,  JVa/.,  t.  16 ;  Horat..  Epod^  xri.  22),  and 
which  Italian  sailors  still  call  AjfriciK  The  Greeks  caUed  it  xi^ 
(cf .  At (jSar)  because  it  brought  showers.  According  to  this  Tiew 
Libya  was  simply  **  the  southwest  country.^  The  meaning  of  the 
name  Africa  is  very  obscure.  A  conjecture,  as  plansble  as  any, 
connects  it  with  Hebrew  Kj^  and  supposes  it  to  hare  been 
applied  by  the  settlers  of  Carthage  to  the  nomadic  or  barbarous 
tribes  in  the  neighbourhood  (MoTvrs,  Die  Pkifnixier^  iL  402). 
Mgiaally  confined  to  the  region  abo«t  Carthage,  the  name  Africa 
giadnaliy  aapeisadsd  Liby«  m  m  bum  te  tkat  eoatiBNit. 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  139 

Why,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  did  Waldseemiiller 
propose  America  as  a  new  name  for  the  whole? 
The  reply  is,  that  he  did  nothing  of  the  sort.     We 
shall  never  understand  what  he  had  in  itwaanottiM 
mind  until  we  follow  Mr.  Freeman's  ad-  Z^^^' 
vice  and  free  ourselves  from  the  bondage  mSi^t  ^ 
of  the  modem  map.     Let  us  pursue  for  ^"^•'***- 
a  moment  the  further  fortunes  of  the  work  in 
which   our   friends  of  Saint -Di^  were   engaged. 
Upon  the  death  of  Duke  Rene  in  1508  the  little 
coterie  was  broken  up.     Lud  seems  in  some  way 
to  have  become  dissociated  from  the  enterprise; 
Kingmann  in  that  year  became  professor  of  cos- 
mography at  Basel,  ^  and  his  untimely  death  oc- 
curred in  1511.     Waldseemiiller  was   thus    left 
comparatively  alone.    The  next  edition  of  the  Cos- 
mographicB   Introditctio  was   published  at  Stras- 
burg  in  1509,  the  work  upon  the  Ptolemy  was  kept 
up,   or  resumed,   with  the  aid  of  two  _        _ . 
jurists  of  that  city,  Jacob  Aeszler  and  5JgP"*>" 
Georg  Uebelin,  and  the  book  was  at  ?5S***"^» 
last  published  there  in  1513.     Among 
the  twenty  new  maps  in  this  folio  volume  is  one  to 
which  we  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  refer,  the 
Tahida  Terre  Nove^  made  for  this  edition  of  Ptol- 
emy at  the  expense  of  Duke  Rene  and  under  the 
supervision  of  Waldseemiiller,  if  not  by  his  own 
hands,  and  engraved  before  1508.^    We  must  there- 
fore regard  this  map  and  the  text  of  the  Cosmo^ 
graphicB  Introductio  as  expressions  of  opinion  prac- 
tically contemporaneous  and  emanating  from  the 

^  Ayezao,  Martin  WaUzemuUerf  p.  105. 
^  See  above  p.  77. 


140  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

same  man  (or  men,  i.  e.  Waldseemiiller  and  Bing« 
mann).  Now  what  do  we  find  on  this  map?  The 
Brazilian  coast  is  marked  with  local  names  derived 
from  the  third  voyage  of  Vespucius,  but  instead  of 
the  general  name  America,  or  even  Mnndos  Novus, 
TheiiMcrip.  ^^  YiSLYQ  simply  Terra  Incognita;  and 
wiUfSSraiiu.  <>ver  to  the  left,  apparently  referring  to 
ter'tmftp.  ^^  Pearl  Coast  and  perhaps  also  to 
Honduras,  we  read  the  inscription :  —  ^^This  land 
with  the  adjacent  islands  was  discovered  by  Colum- 
bus of  Genoa  by  order  of  the  King  of  Castile."^ 
The  appearance  of  incompatibility  between  this 
statement  and  the  assertion  that  Vespucius  discov* 
ered  the  Fourth  Part  has  puzzled  many  learned 
geographers.^  But  I  venture  to  think  that  this  in- 
compatibility is  only  apparent,  not  real.  Suppose 
we  could  resuscitate  those  bright  young  men,  Wald- 
seemiiller and  Kingmann,  and  interrogate  them! 
I  presume  they  would  say:  —  "Bless  you,  dear 
modem  scholars,  you  know  many  things  that  we 
did  not,  but  you  have  clean  forgotten  some  things 
that  to  us  were  quite  obvious.  W"hen  we  let  fall 
that  little  suggestion  about  naming  the  Fourth 
Part  after  Americus,  perhaps  we  were  not  so 
fiercely  in  earnest  as  you  seem  to  think.  We  were 
not  bora  of  Hyreanian  tigers*  but  sometimes  enliv- 
comhI  our  dry  dis^juisitions  with  a  wholesome  laugh, 
and  so  neat  a  chance  for  quining  Eoropa  and  the 
&ir  sex  was  not   lost  upon  us.     SeriouslT,  how- 


]:»>:  At«m.  linrfiii  1l««itmii£Mr«  p.lM;  Mi^.  fVun  Hcivy 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  141 

ever,  what  did  we  do  that  was  inoonsigtent  or  tin« 
&ir?  Did  we  not  give  Columbus  the 
credit  for  discovering  exactly  what  he  maim»iid^ 
did  discover,  the  Pearl  and  Honduras  lerroauy 
coasts  and  the  adjacent  islands?  And 
did  we  not  say  of  Americus  that  he  had  found  the 
Fourth  Part,  or  Mundus  Novus,  beyond  the  equa- 
tor^ concerning  which  the  imcients  had  no  know- 
ledge, but  the  existence  of  which  was  plainly  indi- 
cated, in  their  different  ways,  by  Ptolemy  and 
Mela?  But  you  go  on  to  ask  was  it  not  Columbus 
that  first  showed  the  way  to  the  Indies?  To  be 
sure  it  was ;  we  never  denied  it  I  Again  you  ask 
if  the  Pearl  Coast  and  the  Mundus  Novus  were  not 
alike  parts  of  South  America.  Our  answer  is  that 
when  we  were  living  on  the  earth  nobody  had 
framed  a  conception  of  the  distinct  and  integral 
whole  which  you  now  call  South  America.  We 
knew  that  long  stretches  of  strange  coast  had  been 
discovered  here  and  there ;  and  some  of  them  inter- 
ested us  for  one  reason  and  some  for  another.  It 
was  doubtless  a  thing  more  divine  than  human  for 
the  Admiral  Columbus  to  sail  by  the  west  to  Asia 
along  the  circumference  of  the  CEcumene,  but  he 
never  supposed  that  he  had  thus  f oimd  a  new  part 
of  the  earth,  nor  did  we.  To  sail  across  the  torrid 
zone  and  explore  a  new  antipodal  world  that  formed 
DO  part  of  the  CEcumene  was  a  very  different 
thing,  and  it  was  this  deed  for  which  we  properly 
gave  the  credit  to  Americus ;  for  did  not  the  learned 
and  accurate  Master  Ruysch  testify  that  voyagers 
upon  this  antarctic  coast  had  beheld  the  southern 
pole  more  than  50^  above  the  horizon,  and  yet  had 


142  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

Been  no  end  to  that  country?  We  therefore  acted 
according  to  our  best  lights,  emphasizing,  as  we 
admit,  that  which  appealed  to  us  most  forcibly. 
If  we  could  have  studied  your  nineteenth  century 
globes  we  shotdd  have  learned  to  express  ourselves 
differently;  but,  bless  you  again,  dear  modem 
scholars,  may  not  some  of  your  own  expressions 
run  risk  of  being  misunderstood  after  an  equal 
lapse  of  time?" 

If  along  with  our  two  editors  of  Ptolemy  we 
could  also  call  back  for  a  moment  from  the  Undis- 
Signiflcuitri.  covered  Country  that  learned  geogra- 
dl^c^u*^  pher,  accomplished  scholar,  and  devoted 
^'^  son,  Ferdinand  Columbus,  and  let  him 

hear  their  explanation,  I  feel  sure  that  he  would 
promptly  and  heartily  recognize  its  substantial 
correctness.  Upon  the  point  in  question  we  already 
have  Ferdinand's  testimony,  clothed  in  a  silence 
more  eloquent  than  any  conceivable  words.  I  have 
already  remarked  upon  Ferdinand^s  superb  library, 
of  which  the  remnant  of  four  or  five  thousand  vol- 
umes is  still  preserved,  —  the  Biblioteca  Colom- 
bina  at  Seville.  It  will  be  remembered  that  he 
had  a  habit  of  marking  and  annotating  his  books 
in  a  way  that  is  sometimes  quite  helpful  to  the  his- 
torian. Now  the  number  1773  of  Feidinand^s 
library  is  a  copy  of  the  Cosmoffrapkug  /n/rtxf  wcf  <o 
in  the  edition  published  at  Strasburg  in  1509. 
His  autograph  note  infonns  us  that  he  bought  it 
at  Venice  in  Julv«  15il«  for  five  fwidas.^  As 
his  death  occurred  in  lo39«  he  had  this  book  in  his 
possession  (or  eighteen  3neaurs«  and  daring  a  part 

Clri'jiHiiti  C^kmi^s  tarn.  wL  p.  CTH 


MUNDU8  NOVUS,  143 

of  this  time  he  was  engaged  in  preparing  the 
biography  of  his  father.  He  was  naturally  very 
sensitive  about  everything  that  in  any  way  great 
or  small  concerned  his  father's  fame,  and  if  any 
*  writer  happened  to  make  statements  in  the  slight- 
est  de derogatory  to  his  father's  unporlJLee 
or  originality,  Ferdinand  would  pause  in  his 
narrative  and  demolish  the  offender  if  it  took  a 
whole  chapter  to  do  it.^  But  his  book  makes  no 
allusion  whatever  to  Waldseemiiller  or  his  sugges- 
tion of  the  name  America  or  his  allusion  to  Vespu- 
cius  as  the  discoverer  of  Quarta  Pars.  Not  so 
much  as  a  word  had  Ferdinand  Columbus  to  say 
on  this  subject  I  Still  more,  the  book  of  Waldsee- 
miiller did  not  sleep  on  the  shelf  during  those 
eighteen  years.  Ferdinand  read  and  annotated  it 
with  fulness  and  care,  but  made  no  comment  upon 
the  passage  in  question!  This  silence  is  absolutely 
decisive.  Here  was  the  son  of  Columbus  and  for 
some  years  the  fellow-townsman  of  Americus  at 
Seville,  the  familiar  friend  of  the  younger  Vespu- 
cius  who  had  gone  with  his  imcle  on  most  if  not 
all  his  voyages, — can  we  for  a  moment  suppose 
that  he  did  not  know  all  that  had  been  going  on 
among  these  people  since  his  boyhood?  Of  course 
he  understood  what  voyages  had  been  made  and 
where,  and  interpreted  them  according  to  the  best 

^  See,  for  example,  his  refatation  of  Giustiniani's  *^  thirteen 
lies'*  in  Vita  ddV  Ammiraglio^  cap.  ii. ;  and  his  attacks  npon 
Martin  Pinzon  and  Oviedo,  cap.  x.,  xvi.,  xlL  As  M.  Harrisse  ob- 
serveSf  *'  Lorsqu'il  rencontre  sur  son  cbemin  nn  rival  de  Chris- 
tophe  Colomb,  on  nn  ^crivain  dont  le  r^cit  semble  devoir  diminuer 
Timportance  du  navig^tenr  g^nois  devant  la  posterity,  il  le  vili- 
pende  sans  piti^.*'    Femand  Colombo  p.  141. 


144  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

light  of  an  age  in  whieh  he  was  one  of  the  f  ov&- 
most  geographers.  His  annotations  show  him  to 
have  been  eminently  clear-headed,  accurate,  and 
precise.  It  would  be  impossible  to  find  a  contem- 
porary witness  more  intelligent  or  more  certain  to  • 
utter  a  sharp  and  ringing  protest  against  any  at- 
tempt to  glorify  Americus  at  the  expense  of  his 
father.  Yet  against  Waldseemiiller's  suggestion 
Ferdinand  Coliunbus  uttered  no  {nrotest.  He  saw 
nothing  strange  in  the  statement  that  it  was  Amer- 
icus who  discovered  the  QuartaPars,  or  in  the  sug- 
gestion that  it  ^ould  bear  his  name.  Under  the 
oircimistanoes  there  is  but  one  possible  explanation 
oi  this.  It  proves  that  Ferdinand  shared  Wald- 
aeemiiUer's  opinion,  and  that  to  the  former  as  to 
the  latter  this  Fourth  Part  meant  something  very 
different  from  what  we  mean  when  we  speak  of 
America  or  of  the  New  World.  ^ 

^  M.  Harriase  (in  bis  Femand  Cclomb,  Paris,  1872,  pp.  141-145) 
uses  the  silenoe  of  the  Vita  deU*  Awtmiraglio,  as  aa  axgament  in 
sappoit  of  his  crotchet  that  the  book  was  not  irritten  bj  Ferdi- 
nand (see  above,  toL  i.  p.  840).  His  argument  snffeis  seTerdy 
from  **  bondage  to  the  modem  map.**  Referring  to  Waldsee- 
mtUler,  he  sajs :  — **  On  declare  d*abord  que  e'est  Vespnee,  ef  nam 
Chrittopke  Colomh  [I  I  the  HalioixiAg  is  mine :  WaldseemnDer 
sajs  nothing  of  the  sort],  qni  a  d^conTert  le  NonTean  Monde; 
ensoite  on  promet  de  le  prourer  *'  ut  in  sequentibns  sndietnr,*  en 
pnbliant  la  relation  de  see  qoatre  ▼oyagea;  aafin,  poor  V&n 
r^oompenser.  ravtenr  pcopose  de  donaer  ot  donne  en  effet  d'vne 
mani^re  ind^^bile  k  ces  pars  noareanx  le  nom  d*Am^riqne.** 
It  should  be  added  that  M.  Hanvae*  while  eaUii^r  WaUbeemnl- 
ler*8  book  *^  ee  m4diant  petit  lirre,**  does  fuQ  justice  to  the  in- 
tegritj  of  Vespocitts.  In  the  argument  jnst  citod  the  reader  will 
BDW  be  aUe  to  see  Uiat  aU  its  force  is  lest  by  its  failure  to  seise 
the  histccieal  perspective ;  it  uses  the  phrase  ^Towwaa  MtuU  in 
its  ninsteeBth  contnrj  aeaaa.  As  i«igards  FerdinaBd  Columbus, 
ite  force  is  deatrojad  by  the  fact  that  his  saknoe  azksids  to  his 


MUNDU8  NOVU8.  145 

Wliat  that  Fourth  Part  really  meant  I  believe  I 
have  now  sufficiently  explained.  It  is  again  de- 
fined for  us  most  clearly  and  explicitly  The  ptoiemF 
in  the  revised  edition  of  Waldseemiil-  ®'^^^- 
ler's  Ptolemy  published  at  Strasburg  in  1522,  three 
years  after  his  death.  This  edition  was  completed 
by  Lorenz  Fries,  and  is  usually  known  by  his 
name.  It  uses  the  three  names  America,  Mundus 
Novus,  and  Quarta  Pars  as  synonymous  and  inter- 
changeable; and  in  its  map  corresponding  to  the 
TabtUa  Terre  Naoe^  but  variously  amended,  it  sub- 
stitutes America  for  Terra  Incognita  about  where 
the  name  Brazil  would  come  on  a  modem  map; 
while  at  the  same  time  in  the  Venezuelan  region 
it  repeats  the  inscription  stating  that  this  coast 
and  the  neighbouring  islands  were  discovered  by 
Columbus. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  map-malsers  at 
that  day  took  just  the  same  view  of  this  or  of  any 
other  obscure  subject.  Some  thought  ©iifeMat  ««>. 
the  Mundus  Novus  deserved  its  name  m^imNo- 
because  it  was  Ptolemy's  unknown  land  "^ 
beyond  Cattigara,  as  the  Orontius  globe  proves; 
some  because  it  was  of  indefinite  extent  and 
r^ninded  them  of  Mela's  antipodal  world,  as  we 

copy  of  Waldseemiiller's  book.  But  indeed  Las  Casaa,  as  will 
preaetttlj  be  shown,  expressly  declares  that  Ferdinand*  s  book 
tays  nothing  about  the  naming  of  America  (Historia  de  las 
IndiaSy  tom.  ii.  p.  396).  —  Among  other  books  belonging  to  Fer- 
dinand, in  which  the  name  America  was  adopted,  or  Vespudus 
mentioned  as  diecoyerer  of  Mundus  Noyus,  were  Walter  Lud's 
Spectdum,  the  1518  edition  of  Pomponins  Mela,  the  works  of 
Johaan  Sohoaer,  and  the  Cosmographicus  Liber  of  Apianus  (Har- 
risse,  op»  cit.  p.  144).  There  is  nothing  to  show  that  anything  in 
them  disturbed  him. 


146  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A, 

may  gather  from  Suysch's  map;^  some  simply 
because  it  was  an  enormous  mass  of  land  in  an  un- 
expected quarter.^  When  carefully  placed,  with 
strict  reference  to  its  origin,  the  name  Mundus 
Novus,  or  its  alternative  America,  is  always  equiv- 
alent to  Brazil ;  but  sometimes  where  the  southern 
continent  appears  as  a  great  island  its  position  is 
so  commanding  as  to  make  it  practically  the  name 
of  that  island.  This  is  the  case  with  the  earliest 
known  map  upon  which  the  name  America  appears. 
This  map  was  discovered  about  thirty  years  ago  in 
The  map  at-  Q^^D  Victoria's  library  at  Windsor 
Sl^ldL^  Castle,  in  a  volume  of  MS.  notes  and 
vtod,  Kit.  drawings  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci.  There 
is  much  reason  for  regarding  the  map  as 
the  work  of  Leonardo,  but  this  has  been  doubted.' 

^  **  Tenm  etiam  noTm  ...  a  Yespatio  nnper  inTenta,  qoam  ob 
sni  magfnitudiiiem  Mundum  novum  appeUant,  ultra  asqiiatorem 
pins  So  gradibns,  Vesputii  obaerraticnie  protendi  cognita  est,  et 
mttdwmjims  inrewtfu,**  Alberto  Pigbi  Campom  in  1520,  apnd 
Hnmboldt,  £ra»«a  tritiqm^  torn.  ir.  p.  145.  Compaie  the  in- 
aeriptxcna  £  and  Q  on  Rajseh^s  map. 

*  **  Si«  si  ad  anstram  spectcs,  magna  pan  teme  nostra  tem- 
p««tat«  9xploiata  ««t«  ant  salte  cirenmnaTigata,  qnam  Ptolenusns 
nt  ineognilam  r^liqnit :  ab  Hirpanw  aero  qunm  in  orientsm 
aauigio  toat««dnnt.  obambalatnr  A  civnutnr.  nt  paalo  post  dis- 
MNvmnsL  Qaia  <^  in  ocmum  oceid«irtaIi  fere  nouns  orbis  nostris 
t^piwibio  ab  Albnwo  V««p«tio  <&  OuistopbotoCohimbo,  mnlttsqns 
alib  iwtignibns  nins  in«mlnat«t«  qni  nasi  aba  re  qnaita  orbis  pars 
nnnenpari  pc4iMt«  «t>am  tvcra  nasi  ait  tripartita,  aed  qnadripartita, 
qanm  b»  Indiania  iaanlvsna  magniradine  Enropam  cxoedant, 
pcw»rtim  «a  qsA  ab  Am<n<<ff  praao  i—<iott  Ametieam  noeat.*' 
Sebastian  Mlast^r.  TjAm  cw»yy4ina.  *P*^  Grrwens.  Xotrnt 

»  Tb»ssibyNft  b#labwai»hr  djwwwd  br  Major.  -^  Mtsnoir  on  a 
Man^mamtt  br  Lmmm^  <la  Vian^  bmg  tW  sartiest  Map 
bitkwf»  kwnn  tMMMMC  ^»  MM  idI  ABSttea."  Ankanltgia, 


MUNDUS  NOVUS. 


147 


It  represents  the  oceanic  theory  in  its  extreme 
form  and  has  some  points  of  likeness  to  the  Lenox 
globe.  The  northern  continent  is  represented  by 
the  islands  of  Bacalar  and  Terra  Florida,  and  the 


Part  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci's  map,  cir.  1514  —  earliest  known  map 

with  the  name  '^  America." 

latter  name  proves  the  date  of  the  map  to  be  sub- 
sequent to  Ponce  de  Leon's  discovery  on  Easter 
Sunday,  1513.  Cipango,  here  spelled  Zipugna, 
still  hovers  in  the  neighbourhood.     The  western 

London,  1866,  voL  xl.  pp.  1-40.  The  sketch  here  given  is  reduced 
Irom  Winsor  (ii.  120),  who  takes  it  from  Wieser's  Magalhaea- 
StrcuBt. 


148  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AKEBICA. 

ooaat  of  the  southem  contment  is  drawn  at  raa- 
dom ;  and  the  antarctic  land,  the  inevitable  remi- 
niscence of  Ptolemy  and  Mela,  protrudes  as  far  as 
the  parallel  of  60""  S. 

In  1515  Johann  Schoner,  professor  of  mathe- 
matics at  Nuremberg,   made  a  globe  upon  which 
America  is  drawn  very  much  as  upon 

America  oa        ^  -    ,  -  -*  .  .     * 

8choner>a        JLeonardo  8  map,    with  an   inscription 

flnt  globe ;  ,  *  ,  *^ 

stating  that  the  western  coast  is  un- 
known; above,  corresponding  to  Mexico,  is  ^^  Fa- 
rias "  in  the  true  position  of  Vespucius's  Lariab, 
and  this  is  joined  to  the  Florida  (with  no  name) 
taken  from  Cantino  and  ending  with  a  scroll,  as 
in  Euysch,  saying  that  what  is  beyond  is  unknown. 
Leonardo's  antarctic  land  here  comes  up  so  as 
almost  to  touch  America,  and  it  bears  the  name 
"Brazilie  Regio,"  reminding  us  of  Orontius. 

In  1520  Schoner  made  a  second  globe,  which  is 
still  preserved  at  Nuremberg.  Here  the  unnamed 
end  on  hit  Florida  has  taken  the  name  ^^  Terra  de 
'•~~*'^"^  Cuba,"though  both  globes  also  give  the 
island.  ^^Paria"  still  denotes  Mexico,  while 
"Terra  Parius  "  appears  for  the  true  Paria  on  the 
Pearl  Coast.  America  is  expressly  identified  with 
the  land  discovered  by  Cabral;  the  legend  be- 
tween latitudes  10°  and  20°  S.  is  "America  or 
Brasilia  or  Land  of  Paroquets."  The  antarctic 
land  has  here  become  "Brasilia  Inferior."  ^ 

On  the  important  map  made  by  Baptista  Agnese 
at  Venice  in  1536,  the  name  America  does  not  ap- 
pear, but  Mundus  Novus  and  Brazil  are  placed 

^  Sketohes  of  tbese  two  Sohoner  globes  are  upTen  in  WioMt^ 
Narr,  and  Crit,  £fiflf.,iL  118, 119. 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  149 

dose  together  and  south  of  the  equator.^    And- on 
the  map  made  by  Sebastian  Miinster  for  „  _, 
the  1540  Ptolemy,  we  read,  a  little  below 
the  equator,   ^^Novus  Orbis,  the  Atlantic  island 
which  they  call  Brazil  and  America."    Below,  to 
the  west  of  the  river  La  Plata,  we  read  "Die  Niiw 
Welt."*    These  are  some  of  the  exam-  j^  u^^^ 
pies  which  show  that  it  was  an  essential  ^'^J^St. 
part  of  the  conception  of  the  "New  SSthSSi**** 
World,"  in  the  minds  of  the  men  who  ^^"^ 
first  used  the  expression,  that  it  was  a  world  lying 
south  of  the  equator.     The  opposition  between 
Old  World  and  New  World  was  not,  as  now,  be- 
tween the  eastern  and  western  hemispheres;  the 
opposition  was  between  the  northern  hemisphere 
and  the   southern;   and    as   Columbus    had    not 
crossed  the  equator  in  the  course  of  his  four  voy- 
ages, he  had  never  entered  or  seen  what  Waldsee- 
miiller  and  geographers  generally  during  the  first 
half  of    the  sixteenth    century  called    the  New 
World. 

But  the  course  of  time  and  the  progress  of  dis- 
covery wrought  queer  changes  in  men's  conception 
of  Mundus  Novus  and  in  the  applica-  Extension  oi 
tion  of  the  name  America.     It  was  not  l^^l^^** 
very  difficult  for    such  a    euphonious  s^^iSSp.** 
name  to  supplant   its  unwieldy  syno-  «- 
nyms.  Land  of  Paroquets  and  Land  of  the  Holy 
Cross.     Nor  did  it  require  much  extension  for  it 
to  cover  the  whole  southern  continent  soon  after 

^  This  mAp  ia  giyen  below,  p.  496. 

'  This  map,  upon  which  we  see  also  Cattigara,  is  giren  bebw, 
pp.  486,4991 


160  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

the  idea  of  that  continent  as  an  integral  whole  dis- 
tinct from  other  wholes  had  once  been  conceived. 
The  names  of  Paria  and  the  Pearl  Coast,  Vene- 
zuela and  Darien  have  remained  upon  the  map  to 
this  day;  but  Terra  Firma,  the  cumbrous  name 
which  covered  the  four,  was  easily  swallowed  up 
by  America.  Thus  the  name  of  the  Florentine 
navigator  came  to  be  synonymous  with  what  we 
call  South  America;  and  this  wider  meaning  be- 
came all  the  more  firmly  established  as  its  nar- 
rower meaning  was  usurped  by  the  name  Brazil. 
Three  centuries  before  the  time  of  Columbus  the 
red  dye-wood  called  brazil-wood  was  an  article  of 
commerce,  under  that  same  name,  in  Italy  and 
Spain. ^  It  was  one  of  the  valuable  things  that 
were  brought  from  the  East,  and  when  the  Por- 
tuguese found  the  same  dye-wood  abundant  in 
those  tropical  forests  that  had  seemed  so  beautiful 
to  Vespucius,  the  name  Brazil  soon  became  fast- 
ened upon  the  country^  and  helped  to  set  free  the 
name  America  from  its  local  associations. 

^  Mnratori,  Antickitd  italiane,  torn.  ii.  pp.  894-S09 ;  Capnumy, 
Memorias  §obrt  la  atUigua  marina  de  Barcelona^  torn.  ii.  pp.  4, 17, 
20 ;  Humboldt,  Examen  critique,  torn.  216-225.  The  name  of  the 
fabnlons  island  Brazil  or  BresjfUe  in  the  ocean  west  of  Ireland 
seems  to  be  a  case  of  accidental  resemblance.  It  is  probably  the 
Gaelic  name  of  an  island  in  Irish  folk-lore.  See  Winsor,  Narr. 
and  Cnt.  Hist,,  I  5a 

'  The  Piutujrnese  historian  Barros  declares  that  the  snbstita- 
tion  of  such  a  name  as  Brazil  for  such  a  name  as  Holy  Cross  must 
hare  been  the  work  of  some  demon,  for  of  what  account  is  this 
niinerabU  wood  that  dyea  cloth  red  as  compared  with  the  blood 
shed  f(ir  our  eternal  salvation !  —  **  Por^m  como  o  demonio  per  o 
final  da  OruB  fterdeo  o  dominio  qne  tinha  sobre  n^  mediante  a 
l^iao  de  Chnslo  Jesus  consnmmada  nella ;  tanto  qne  daquella 
terra  come^im  de  vir  o  p^  Texmelho  ehamado  Bnail,  txmbalhea 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  151 

By  1540  South  America  had  been  completely 
circumnavigated,  and  it  was  possible  to  draw  an 
outline  map  of  its  coast  with  a  fair  approach  to  ac- 
curacy. It  was  thus  beginning  to  be  known  as  a 
distinct  whole,  and  the  name  America  had  gone 
far  toward  taking  exclusive  possession  of  it.  That 
continent  was  by  far  the  most  imposing  result  of 
discovery  in  the  western  waters,  and  the  next  step 
was  for  its  name  to  spread  beyond  its  natural  lim- 
its so  as  to  cover  adjacent  and  less  known  regions.^ 
Now  by  1540  men  were  just  beginning  to  grasp  the 
fact  that  the  regions  called  New  Spain,  Terra 
Florida,  and  Baccalaos  were  different  parts  of  one 
continent  that  was  distinct  from  Asia.  There  was 
as  yet  no  steadiness  of  thought  on  the  subject. 
The  wet  theory,  as  shown  in  Leonardo  da  Vinci's 
map,  had  long  since  separated  North  America  from 
Asia,  but  only  by  reducing  it  to  a  few  islands. 
The  dry  theory,  as  shown  in  the  Oroutius  globe, 
made  it  continental,  but  only  by  attaching  it  to 

qne  este  nome  ficasse  na  boca  do  poTO,  e  qne  se  perdease  o  de 
Smcta  Cmx,  como  qne  importava  mais  o  nome  de  hnm  p4o  qne 
tinge  pannoe,  qne  daquelle  p4o  que  deo  tintura  a  todolos  Saora- 
meutoa  per  que  somos  salyoB,  por  o  sang^e  de  Christo  Jesus,  qne 
neUe  f oi  derramado/  *  etc.  Barros,  Dtcadas  da  Asia,  Lisbon,  1778, 
torn.  i.  p.  391. 

^  Peter  Bienewitz  (eaUed  Apianus),  in  his  celebrated  book  pub- 
lished in  1524,  clearly  distinguishes  Cuba,  Hispaniola,  etc.,  from 
America.  They  are  islands  lying  near  America,  and  their  in- 
habitants have  customs  and  ceremonies  like  those  of  the  people  of 
America :  —  *'  Habet  antem  America  insulas  udiacentes  [adja- 
centes]  %  plurimas  vt  Pariana  Insulam,  Isabellam  quo  Cuba 
dicitur  [sic]  Spagnollam  .  .  .  Accolas  vero  SpagnollsB  insulas  loco 
panis  yeacuntnr  serpentibus  maximis  et  radicibus.  Ritus  et  cultus 
istarum  circumiacentium  Insularura  par  est  Americas  accolarum 
enltoL^'     Cotmogrttphiau  Liber,  Landshut,  1524,  fol.  69. 


162  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Asia.  A  combination  of  wet  and  dry  theorizing 
was  needed  to  bring  out  the  truth.  This  combi- 
nation was  for  a  moment  realized  in  1541  by  a  man 
who  in  such  mattei*s  was  in  advance  of  his  age. 
Gerard  Kaufmann,  better  known  by  his  latinized 
name  Mercator,  was  a  native  of  East  Flanders, 
bom  in  1512,  the  year  in  which  Yespucius  died. 
Mercator  was  an  able  geographer  and 

jTo^  QIUQ0  ^  9      0  YT         *  ^  « 

«« America  **     mathematician.     He  is  now  remembered 
totiMWMteni  chiefly  for  the  important  method  of  map 

hemisphere  by  •.•  ni^i*  ■%    t^ 

Gerard  Mer-  projection  Called  by  his  name,  and  fpr 
certain  rules  of  navigation  associated 
therewith  and  known  as  ^^ Mercator 's  sailing." 
But  he  should  also  be  remembered  as  the  first 
person  who  indicated  upon  a  map  the  existence  of 
a  distinct  and  integral  western  hemisphere  and 
called  the  whole  by  the  name  America.  Upon 
the  gores  for  a  globe  which  he  made  in  1541, 
Mercator  represented  the  northern  continent  as 
distinct  from  Asia,  and  arranged  the  name  Amer- 
ica in  large  letters  so  as  to  cover  both  northern  and 
southern  continents,  putting  AME  about  on  what 
we  should  call  the  site  of  the  Great  Lakes  and 
RICA  just  west  of  the  river  La  Plata.  ^  This  was 
a  stride,  nay  a  leap  beyond  what  had  gone  before. 
We  have  only  to  contrast  Mercator,  1541,  with 
Agnese,  1536,  and  with  Grastaldi,  1548,  to  realize 
what  a  startling  innovation  it  was.'  It  was  some 
time  yet  before  Mereator^s  ideas  prevailed,  but  his 
map  enables  us  to  see  how  the  recognition  of  a 


^  TlMdtoteh  «  ndwwd  iram  WiMor»  .Yorr.  aad  Grit.  Hut^  n. 
177. 


Sketch  of  Gerard  Meroatop's  map,  1541. 


164  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

western  hemisphere  emerged  and  during  the  latter 
half  of  the  sixteenth  century  became  more  and 
more  distinct.^  As  this  process  went  on  and  the 
idea&  of  the  ancient  geographers  lapsed  into  obliv- 
ion, the  old  contrast  between  north  and  south  be- 
came superseded  by  the  new  contrast 

Change  of  -^  i  rm 

meanlnfrinthe  betwccn  castaud  wcst.    Thus  the  names 

names  "New  , 

yfrid"and     Amcnca    and    New    World    came    to 

*  America.  ,      ^ 

awaken  associations  of  ideas  utterly 
different  from  those  amid  which  they  originated. 
If  Waldseemiiller  had  been  told  that  a  time  would 
arrive  when  such  places  as  Baccalaos  and  his  Cape- 
of-the-end-of- April  would  be  said  to  be  in  the  New 
World,  he  would  have  asked,  in  great  amazement, 
how  could  places  in  Asia  and  wholly  within  the 
bounds  of  the  ancient  CEcumene  have  anything 
whatever  to  do  with  the  Quarta  Pars !  That  time, 
however,  did  arrive,  and  when  it  came  the  name 
of  America  began  to  look  like  a  standing  denial  of 
the  just  rights  of  Columbus.  It  looked  as  if  at 
some  time  a  question  had  arisen  as  to  whose  name 
should  be  given  to  the  western  hemisphere,  and  as 
if  for  some  reason  Americus  was  preferred  to  Co- 
lumbus. WTien  such  a  notion  had  got  into  men^s 
heads  Americus  was  sure  to  be  attacked.  No 
charge  is  easier  to  make  than  that  of  falsehood. 
The  sin  of  lying  is  common  enough,  and  geography 
is  not  the  simplest  of  subjects.  Hence  most  great 
travellers,  from  Herodotus  down,  have  for  one  rea- 
son or  another  been  ignorantly  accused  of  lying. 

1  Sm  John  Dee*8  map,  1580,  below,  p.  527;  but  Michael  Lok*s 
map.  1582.  ihows  in  this  respect  a  less  advanced  8tag«  of  develop- 
meat  than  Meroator*a.   See  b«low,  pp.  52i,  525.    . 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  156 

Never  was  such  an  accusation  more  completely  the 
offspring  of  ignorance  than  in  the  case  of  Vespu- 
cius. 

It  was  that  precious  blunder  of  "Farias"  for 
"Lariab"  that  started  the  business,  and  it  wa^ 
aided  by  a  slijwhod  expression  of  the  Nuremberg 
professor,  Johann  Schoner.  In  a  little  tract  pub- 
lished in  1515,  probably  as  an  accompaniment  to 
his  globe  made  in  that  year,  Schoner  alludes  to 
"America,  a  new  world  and  fourth  part  of  the 
globe,  named  after  its  discoverer,  Americus  Ves- 
pucius,  a  man  of  sagacious  mind,  who  found  it  in 
the  year  1497."^  This  confusing  the  first  voyage 
with  the  third  was  not  ignorance,  but  downright 
carelessness,  for  inasmuch  as  on  his  globes  Schoner 
placed  "Parias"  in  Mexico  and  identi-  gchoner's 
fied  America  with  Brazil,  he  knew  weU  ^^^^^^ 
enough  that  it  was  not  in  1497,  but  in  1501  that 
Vespucius  visited  the  Fourth  Fart.  Eighteen 
years  afterward  Schoner  made  another  bad  slip 
when  he  said,  though  here  again  he  knew  better, 
that  "Ajnericus  appointed  a  part  of  Upper  India, 
which  he  supposed  to  be  an  island,  to  be  called 
by  his  name."^    There  is  nothing  in  the  remark 

^  *' America  nue  Ameiigen  nonus  xnnndns:  &  quarta  orbia 
pan:  dicta  ab  eius  inuetore  Americo  Vesputio  viro  sag^is  in- 
genii :  qui  earn  reperit  Anno  domini.  1407.  In  ea  sunt  homines 
brntales,*'  etc  Schoner,  Luctdentissima  quada  terra  totius  cfe- 
KriptiOf  Nnrembeig,  1515.  For  an  account  of  this  very  rare  book 
see  Harrisse,  Bi&/.  Amer.  Vetust.,  No.  80. 

^  "  Americus  Vesputius  maritima  loca  Indite  superioiis  ex  His- 
paniis  nayig^o  ad  occidentem  perlustrans,  earn  partem  quas  supe- 
rioris  IndisB  est,  credidit  esse  Insnlam  quam  a  suo  nomine  vocari 
instituit.^'  Schoner,  OpusctUum  geographicum^  Nuremberg,  1583. 
Inaamnoh  as  Schoner  knew   the  Cosmographies  Introductio  he 


166  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

which  implies  censure,^  but  it  was  probably  this 
that  led  Las  Casas,  after  1552,  to  say  that  Amer- 
ieus  had  been  accused  of  putting  his  name  on  the 
map,  ^^thus  sinfully  failing  toward  the  Admiral." 
Las  Casas  had  finally  come  back  from 
I?*,±;SJ?  America  in  1547,  and  by  1552  had  set- 
SSiStOT*  tied  down  quietly  at  Yalladolid. to  work 
^^'^'  upon  his  great  history.     He  was  vexed 

at  seeing  the  name  America  so  commonly  used,^ 

knew  that  it  was  WaldBeemiiller  and  not  VeBpaciiis  who  "in- 
stituit,"  etc.     Bnt  he  was  evidently  a  man  of  sloyenly  speech. 

1  It  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  a  **  charge ''  against  Vespacins. 
Harrisse  calls  it  **  the  first  attempt  to  tarnish  the  repntation  of 
the  Florentine  cosmographer  "  {BiU.  Amer.  Vettut.,  p.  65).  Here 
ag^ain  comes  the  fallacy  of  reading  our  modem  ideas  into  the  old 
texts.  There  is  nothing  whatever  in  Schoner's  context  to  sug- 
gest that  he  attached  any  blame  to  Vespncins  or  saw  any  im- 
propriety in  the  name.  Indeed  he  had  himself  put  it  on  his 
globes  in  1515  and  1520,  and  done  as  much  as  anybody  to  give  it 
oorreney. 

^  The  suggestion  of  Waldseemiiller  as  to  the  name  America 
seems  to  have  been  first  adopted  in  the  anonymous  Globus  Mundi, 
Strasburg,  1509.  The  name  was  used  by  Joachim  Watt  (caUed 
Vadianus)  in  his  letter  to  Rudolphus  Agricola,  Vienna,  1515,  re- 
printed in  his  edition  of  Mela,  Vienna,  1518.  I  have  already 
alluded  to  its  adoption  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci  and  Schoner  and 
Fries.  Peter  Bienewitz  (called  Apianus)  put  the  name  America 
on  his  map  published  in  1520  (given  in  Winsor,  iL  183)  and 
adopted  it  in  his  Cosmogr<iq)hicus  Liber,  Landshut,  1524;  an 
abridgment  of  this  book  was  published  by  Gemma  Frisius  at 
Ingoldstadt,  1529.  Heinrich  Loritz  (caUed  Glareanus)  used  €b% 
name  in  his  Dt  geographia  liber  umis,  Basel,  1527;  Sebastiaa 
MUnster  gave  it  further  currency  in  his  essay  in  Oryniens,  Novus 
OrbiM,  Paris,  1532;  and  so  again  did  Honter  in  his  Rwiimenta 
Cosmograpkica,  Zurich,  1542.  AU  these  were  very  popular  books 
and  were  many  tiihes  reprinted ;  being  in  Latin  they  reached 
<*ducat4Ml  piH>ple  everywhere,  and  some  of  them  were  translated 
Into  Spanijih.  Italian,  German,  Bohemian,  English,  French,  etc 
Sir  llioinsM  Mure  in  his  Utopia  speaks  of  the  voyages  of  Vespn- 
•Ills  as  "  Howe  in  print*  and  abrode  in  euery  man&es  handes.*' 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  157 

smoe  by  that  time  it  had  come  to  cover  much 
groimd  that  belonged  especially  to  Columbus.  In- 
deed there  can  be  no  doubt  that  by  1550  the  greater 
exploit  of  having  sailed  west  in  order  to  get  to  the 
east  was  somewhat  overshadowed  by  the  lesser  ex- 
ploit of  having  revealed  the  continental  dimensions 
of  a  mass  of  antipodal  land  imknown  to  the  an- 
cients. Vespucius  was  more  talked  about  than  Co- 
lumbus. This  aroused  the  generous  indignation  of 
Las  Casas.  A  wrong  seemed  to  have  been  done, 
and  somebody  must  have  been  to  blame.  Bffoct  upon 

*'  .  .  Lu  GasM  of 

Las  Casas  read  the  Latin  version  of  the  theWundeiw 

Ing  subfltitu- 

letter  to  Soderini,  appended  to  Wald-  **<»^f  "Pwi- 
seemiiller's  book,  and  could  not  mi-  ^ab." 
agine  why  Americus  should  write  such  a  letter  to 
Duke  Rene  or  why  he  should  address  him  as  an 
old  friend  and  schoolmate.  But  when  he  came 
to  the  place  where  Vespucius  seemed  to  be  speak- 
ing of  Paria  his  wrath  was  kindled.  Las  Casas 
quotes  the  guilty  sentence,  and  exclaims,  ^'Amer- 
icus tells  us  that  he  went  to  Paria  on  his  first  voy- 
age, saying:  And  that  province  is  called  by  the 
people  themselves  Parias;  and  then  he  made  his 
second  voyage  with  Ojeda,"  also  to  Paria.  ^  The 
clause  which  I  have  italicized  is  the  very  clause 
in  which  the  Latin  version  ignorantly  substitutes 

See  HarrisBe,  Bibl,  Amer.  Vetust.y  nnder  the  different  yean; 
Winsor,  Near,  and  CriU  Hist,,  ii.  180-186 ;  Varnhag^n,  NouvelUs 
recherches,  pp.  19-24. 

^  "  De  hsber  llegado  A  Paria  el  Amdrico  en  este  bu  primer 
yiajef  ^1  mismo  lo  oonfiesa  en  an  primera  navegacion,  diciendo : 
Et  prouincia  ipsa  Paricu  ah  ipsis  nuncupata  est.  Despnes  hizo 
tambien  oon  el  mismo  Hojeda  la  segonda  navegacion,"  eto.  Las 
Caaas,  Historia  de  las  Indias,  torn.  ii.  p.  273. 


■:;e  r 


.ifEZICJ. 


p  •"'■'1  -.t-r  "!>»  '..•11-ih  <r  -btcnoat  -sst:  iad 
•h"    Kx-'ncp^    f!    vtiii'h   ^«**  ■'-MtiH    FTiiCce    ;  !i  -i» 

,i;<.,";i.iV"'.  'iiat"  X  "It*  "til*'  _mi*^Ki»li'  ..ilt-Tiuic-ii 
4in^  :'i:(H*'  i!l  rln«  n-n'iiit".  ^r  it  <inf  .Tivwti  -hu 
iitT-'-'Ki'!'  '\f  r.fli  t  .iwjiN  iiinn  "ill"  Pali  - '  imt.  ji 
«i)i*v  •■-*.  -lit»  -*v*»lii'it^  *h«»>iiM'iir.  in  -jm*  -«m^  ■»«?• 
aii'l  ^nlv  :'ii"'  ^iM»"  srtnv"  -^n>  iiuiif  "'?'iriii»."  -11111; 
jT  t'l^  ■■  \'!\,^^vf  -'na  T^ijii'  ,-,^  t'.-mi'iti',  -ji  .iiEtniw  iS" 

f.n  *,nfl  -,-„vr>  IT  P»rf;*  IT.  l-t.'T.  *£ii  f.;iOit  m  nift- 

*h!-ti  t;*-  Vf"-*  •"  V*-f"fi^  I"  tb«-  A<lminl '  If  w^. 
r>  riTi"  rt  (frin*  (•!(■'■«■  nf  wi<  Ifilni'i*^  «iyi  T.i»  C*3U^: 
"till  Itf  Tirl<"'tJ  »)tnf  (bo  fa.iU  may  li-'  with  the  jw- 

F'.i  n  vliili  l>i»  afiiilie  J.ivn  .if  faim^s^  Kstxain? 
tjl-  I-  •■   r,f    ?/>a  (   nan".   1'llt  wlion   «t  len^  be  V.«C!i 

nil   irt't-Ti'i    "'i'1«    ■iIit-Bp    f.inipinT* "    wl*.'  su£^ 

*..  |..,t  -I  ■..1.„r.l«.  ■■  \yi.\  hf  hnsiHy  inclui*  Y*s- 
^ulIh.'  in  I.U  ■"'Ti'l'-TiiTinM'in.  sim)  jwlil-  thu  at  rtr- 
ji.,»  ..11. >..;-..   vli'    I'-ivliiiHtnl   Co]  11 II !)>»>.   »'h.-»n.   fc 

/( <-.  li-.-  Ivfl  ill-  l"v.(,  .11"  till'  V.'sjiiu'iu-  T  .■- 

rt'-.      ■'!   Iii .  11.1— .■■"i-ti.  iltij   r\f.\   tnti>' nittji^   ••■   7ii> 


rvl    1,-. 


■   In 


l.'IIS  « 


MUNDUS  NOVVS.  159 

longed  to  his  illustrious  father.^  If  Las  Casas 
had  closely  watched  the  gradual  development  of 
the  affair  he  would  have  understood  Ferdinand's 
silence,  but  as  for  half  a  century  he  had  been 
mostly  in  America,  absorbed  in  very  different 
matters,  the  exaltation  of  Yespucius  took  him  by 
surprise  and  he  was  unable  to  comprehend  it. 

As  the  history  of  Las  Casas  remained  in  manu- 
script, it  produced  no  inunediate  effect  upon  the 
public  mind.  There  were  people  still  Hiaretrn's 
Hving  between  1552  and  1561,  ad  for  ex-  ^^eSS!*^ 
ample  Eamusio  and  Benzoni,^  who  were  ^^^' 
probably  competent  to  set  Las  Casas  right.  But 
in  1601  all  such  people  had  passed  away,  and  then 
the  charge  against  Yespucius  was  for  the  first 
time  published  by  Herrera,  the  historiographer  of 

^  "YxnaraTfllome  yo  de  D.  Hernando  Colon,  hijo  del  misma 
AlnuTsnte,  que  siendo  penrana  de  mny  bnen  ingenio  y  pmdencia, 
J  teniendo  en  an  poder  las  xnismas  nanegaoiones  de  Am^rioo, 
^omo  lo  ai6  yo,  no  advirtUS  en  este  hnrto  y  UBurpacion  que  Am^rico 
Vespucio  hizo  &  sn  muy  ilustre  padre."  Op,  ciu  torn.  ii.  p.  396. 
This  reference  to  Ferdinand's  book  seems  to  prove  that  the  re- 
marks of  Las  Casas  about  Americas  were  written  as  late  as  1552, 
•r  later.  Las  Casas  seems  to  have  begun  work  on  his  history  at 
the  Dominican  monastery  in  San  Domingo,  somewhere  between 
the  dates  1522  and  1530.  He  took  it  up  again  at  Valladolid  in 
1552  and  worked  on  it  until  1561.  His  allusion  to  Ferdinand 
Columbns  was  dearly  made  after  the  death  of  the  latter  in  15^30, 
so  that  this  part  of  the  book  was  doubtless  written  somewhere 
between  1552  and  1561. 

^  At  the  end  of  the  fifth  chapter  of  his  Historia  del  Mondo 
Nuovo,  Venice,  1565,  Benzoni  enumerates  various  men  for  whom 
claims  had  been  made  that  conflicted  with  the  priority  of  Colum« 
bus  in  his  discovery ;  he  does  not  include  Yespucius  in  the  num- 
ber. See  the  excellent  remarks  of  Humboldt  on  Benzoni  and 
Bamuaio,  in  his  Examen  critiquey  torn.  iv.  pp.  146-152. 


160 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 


Spain,  who  had  used  the  manuscript  of  Las  Casas.^ 
Herrera  flatly  accused  Yespucius  of  purposely  an- 
tedating his  voyage  of  1499  with  Ojeda  to  Paria, 
in  order  to  make  it  appear  that  he  had  found  Terra 
Firma  before  Columbus.  Then  Herrera  assumed 
that  Yespucius  again  accompanied  Ojeda  ix>  Paria 
on  the  second  voyage  of  that  cavalier,  which  began 
in  January,  1502.  This  assumption  displaced  the 
third  voyage  of  Yespucius,  who,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, was  in  the  harbour  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  on 
that  New  Year's  day.  A  doubt  was  thus  raised 
as  to  whether  the  third  voyage  was  not  a  lie,  and 
so  the  tangle  went  on  until  one  might  well  wonder 
whether  any  of  these  voyages  ever  were  made  at 
all !  Surely  no  poor  fellow  was  ever  so  victimized 
by  editors  and  commentators  as  this  honest  Flor- 
entine sailor  !  From  the  dire  confusion  into  which 
Herrera  contrived  to  throw  the  subject  it  was  no 
easy  task  for  scholars  to  emerge.  Where  was  the 
Ariadne  who  could  furnish  a  due  to  such  a  laby- 
rinth? For  two  centuries  and  a  half  the  assertion 
that  Yespucius  had  somehow  contrived  to  cheat 
people  into  the  belief  that  he  was  the  discoverer 
of  the  western  hemisphere  was  repeated  by  his- 
torians,  proclaimed  in  cydopiedias, 
preached  about  by  moralists,  and  taught 
to  children  in  their  school-books.  In 
the  queer  lumber-garret  of  half -formed 
notions  which  for  the  majority  of  man- 
kind does  duty  as  history  this  particu- 
lar misty   notion  was,  and  is  still,  pretty  sure  to 

^  U«rrei«,  Hittorki  4t  ias  ImUm  Oceitfeataies,  Madrid,  ISOl, 
L  pp.  125-liS,  ISl,  liS,  224,  2dOl 


TbecbaifEVof 

riaetotte 

ttotioo  that 
Am^ricua 
contHwd  to 
•MM4ant  Co> 

lUMbttftk 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  161 

be  found.  Until  the  nineteenth  century  scarcely 
anybody  had  a  good  word  for  the  great  navigator 
except  Bandini,  Canovai,  and  other  Florentine 
writers.  But  inasmuch  as  most  of  these  defenders 
simply  stood  by  their  fellow-countryman  from  the 
same  kind  of  so-called  ^^ patriotic"  motives  that 
impel  Scandinavian  writers  to  attack  Columbus, 
their  arguments  produced  little  impression;  and 
being  quite  as  much  in  the  dark  as  their  adversa- 
ries,  they  were  apt  to  overdo  the  business  and  hurt 
their  case  by  trying  to  prove  too  much.  Until  the 
middle  of  the  present  century  the  renewal  of  as- 
saults upon  Yespucius  used  to  come  in  periodic 
spasms,  like  the  cholera  or  the  fashion  of  poke 
bonnets.^     Early  in   this  century  the  publication 

^  The  latest  and  fiercest  of  these  assaults  was  the  little  book 
of  the  Viscount  de  Santarem,  Recherchea  historiques,  critiques,  et 
bibUographiques  $ur  Amiric  Vespuce  et  ses  voyages,  Paris,  1842. 
For  perverse  ingenuity  in  creating  diffionlties  where  none  exist, 
tliis  hook  is  a  cariosity  in  the  literature  of  morbid  psychology. 
Frran  long  staring  into  mare's  nests  the  author  had  acquired  a 
ehronio  twist  in  his  vision.  What  else  can  be  said  of  a  man  who 
wastes  four  pages  (pp.  53-56)  in  proving  that  Yespucius  could 
aot  have  been  a  schoolmate  of  the  Jirst  Ren^  of  Lorraine,  who 
was  bom  in  1410  ?  and  who  is,  or  affects  to  be,  so  g^rossly  igno- 
rant of  Florentine  history  as  to  find  it  strange  (p.  63)  that  Yespu- 
cius diould  have  been  on  friendly  terms  at  once  with  Soderini 
and  with  a  Medici  of  the  younger  branch  ?  M.  de  Santarem*8 
methods  would  have  been  highly  valued  by  such  sharp  practition- 
ers as  Messrs.  Dodson  and  Fogg :  —  **  Chops !  Gracious  heavens  I 
and  tomato  sauce ! !  Gentlemen,  is  the  happiness  of  a  sensitive 
and  confiding  female  to  be  trifled  away  by  such  shallow  artifices 
as  these  ?  "  With  arguments  of  this  character  M.  de  Santarem 
eontrived  to  abolish  all  the  voyages  of  Yespucius  except  the  one 
with  Ojeda.  The  only  interest  that  can  be  felt  to-day  in  this 
worthless  book  Hes  in  the  fact  that  an  English  translation  of  it 
was  published  in  Boston  in  1850^  and  is  to  be  held  responsible 
for  the  following  ontbuxBt,  at  which  no  one  would  have  been  so 


162  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

of  many  original  documents  seemed  at  first  only  to 
enhance  the  confusion,  for  it  took  time  and  patient 

shocked  as  the  illnstrions  author,  if  he  had  been  pioperlj  in- 
formed :  —  **  Strange  that  broad  America  most  wear  the  name 
of  a  thief.  Amerigo  Vespucci,  the  pickle-dealer  at  Seville,  who 
went  out  in  1499,  a  subaltern  with  Hojeda,  and  whose  highest 
naval  rank  was  boatswain's  mate  in  an  expedition  that  never 
sailed,  managed  in  this  lying  world  to  supplant  Columbus  and 
baptize  half  the  earth  with  his  own  dishonest  name.**  Emerson, 
English  Traits,  Boston,  1856  (p.  148  of  the  Riverside  edition, 
1883). 

Closely  connected  with  these  recurrent  assaults  have  been  more 
or  less  serious  proposals  from  time  to  time  to  change  the  name  of 
America,  or  of  North  America,  or  of  the  United  States.  In  point 
of  euphony  the  names  suggested  would  hardly  be  an  improve- 
ment, and  they  have  often  been  of  dubious  historical  propriety ; 
e.  g.  Cabotia ;  or  even  Sebcuticma^  which  would  be  honouring 
the  son  at  the  expense  of  the  father ;  or  Alle^anig,  but  why 
should  the  Tallegwi  monopolize  it  ?  I  suppose  Mr.  Lewis  Mor- 
gan might  have  approved  of  Ganowania,  or  perhaps  Hodeno- 
saunia,  "  country  of  the  Long  House.*'  Early  in  the  seventeenth 
century  Hzarro  y  Orellana  {Varones  ilustres  del  Ntievo  Mundo, 
Madrid,  1639,  p.  51)  expressed  his  disgust  at  the  name  of  Amer- 
ica, not  because  it  was  an  injustice  to  Columbus,  but  because  it 
was  not  aristocratic  enough;  the  New  World  ought  not  to  be 
named  after  anybody  lower  than  royalty,  and  so  he  proposed  to 
call  it  Fer-Isabelica !  That  would  have  been  a  nice  name! 
Gentle  reader,  how  would  yon  like  to  be  a  Fer-Isabelican  ?  An- 
other sage  Spaniard  would  have  enshrined  the  memory  of  Charles 
V.  in  such  an  epithet  as  Orbis  Carolinus.  See  Sol6rzano  Pereyra, 
De  Indiarum  Jure,  Leyden,  1672,  lib.  i.  cap.  2.  Late  in  the 
sixteenth  century  a  learned  Portuguese  writer  characterized  the 
New  World  as  Golden  India,  while  he  distinguiahed  the  eastern 
possessions  of  his  nation  as  Aromatic  India.  See  Gaspar  Fmo- 
tuoso,  Saudades  da  Terra,  Lisbon,  1590. 

Speaking  of  Alleghania  reminds  me  of  the  droll  conceit  of 
Professor  Jules  Marcou  that  the  name  America  after  all  was  not 
taken  from  Vespuoius,  but  from  a  mountain  range  in  Nicaragua, 
the  Indian  name  of  which  was  Amerrique  or  AmertCy  and  which 
he  imagines  (without  a  morsel  of  documentary  evidence)  that 
Columbus  must  have  heard  on  his  fourth  voyage  !  (See  Atlantic 
Monthly,  March,  1876,  ToL  XZZT.  pp.  291-296.)     According  to 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  163 

thinking  to  get  so  many  new  facts  into  the  right 
connections. 

At  length  the  gigantic  learning  of  Alexander 
von  Humboldt  was  brought  to  bear  on 
the  subject,  and  enough  was  accom-  partly  refuted 
plished  to  vindicate  forever  the  charac-  fuiiy  by 
ter  of  Americus.  But  owing  to  inad- 
equate textual  criticism,  much  still  remained  to 
be  cleared  up.  Proceeding  from  the  Latin  text 
of  1507,  and  accepting  the  Bandini  letter  as  gen- 
uine, Humboldt  naturally  failed  to  unravel  the 
snarl  of  the  first  two  voyages.  Then  came  Varn- 
hagen,  who  for  the  first  time  began  at  the  very  be- 
ginning by  establishing  the  primitive  and  genuine 
texts  from  which  to  work.  This  at  once  carried 
the  first  voyage  far  away  from  Paria,  and  then 
everything  began  to  become  intelligible.  Though 
scholars  are  not  as  yet  agreed  as  to  all  of  Vam- 
hagen's  conclusions^  yet  no  shade  of  doubt  is  left 
upon  the  integrity  of  Vespucius.^  So  truth  is 
strong  and  prevails  at  last. 

this  fancy,  tlie  name  America  should  have  been  first  applied  to 
Nicaragna,  ^whereas  it  was  really  first  applied  to  Brazil  and  had 
been  naed  for  many  a  year  before  it  extended  across  the  isthmos 
of  Darien.  Speculation  d,  priori  is  of  little  use  in  history,  and  a 
great  many  things  that  must  have  happened  never  did  happen. 
If  I  -were  not  afraid  of  starting  off  some  venturesome  spirit  on  a 
fresh  wildgoose^jhase,  I  would — well,  I  will  take  the  risk  and 
mention  the  elfish  coincidence  that,  whereas  Brazil,  the  orig^al 
America,  received  its  name  from  its  dye-wood  like  that  of  the 
East  Indies,  there  was  a  kind  of  this  brazil-wood  in  Sumatra 
which  the  fourteenth  century  traveller  Pegolotti  calls  Amebi, 
and  aloi^  with  it  another  and  somewhat  better  kind  which  he 
calls  GoLOHBiNO ! !  I     See  Tule's  Marco  Polo,  vol.  ii.  p.  315. 

^  No  competent  scholar  anywhere  will  now  be  found  to  dissent 
fnnu  the.  emphatic  statement  of  M.  Harrisse :  —  **  After  a  dili- 


164  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

One  thing  more  was  needed,  and  that  was  to 
make  a  comprehensive  statement  of  the  case  en* 
tirely  freed  from  ^^  bondage  to  the  modem  map/' 
—  a  statement  interpreting  the  facts  as  they  ap- 
peared in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  to 
students  of  Ptolemy  and  Mela,  and  rigorously 
avoiding  the  error  of  projecting  our  modem  know- 
ledge into  the  past.  I  sincerely  hope  that  in  the 
present  chapter  I  have  kept  dear  of  that  error. 

It  has  not  been  merely  through  a  desire  to  do 
justice  to  the  memory  of  a  great  navigator  and 
worthy  man  that  I  have  devoted  so  much  space  to 
this  subject  and  made  such  large  demands  upon 
the  reader's  patience.  It  will  at  once  be  recog- 
nized, I  think,  that  through  such  a  discussion, 
more  than  through  any  mere  narrative,  are  we 
made  to  realize  what  a  gradual  process  of  evolution 
the  Discovery  of  America  really  was.  We  have 
now  to  follow  that  process  into  its  next  stage  of 
advancement,  and  see  how  men  came  to  the  know- 
ledge of  a  vast  ocean  to  the  west  of  Mundus  Novus. 
We  have  here  fortunately  arrived  at  a  region  where 
the  air  is  comparatively  clear  of  controversial 
mists,  and  although  we  have  to  describe  the  crown- 
ing achievement  in  the  records  of  maritime  discov- 
ery, the  story  need  not  long  detain  us. 

We  may  properly  start  by  indicating  the  pur- 
gent  stndy  of  all  tbe  origiiuJ  doenments,  we  feel  oonstnuned  to 
•ay  that  there  is  not  a  particle  of  evidence,  direct  or  indirect,  im- 
plicating^ Americus  Vespnoins  in  an  attempt  to  foist  his  name  on 
this  continent.*'  Bibliotkeca  Amerkami  VtiuUissima,  New  York, 
1860,  p.  65. 


MUNDU8  NOVUS.  165 

pose  of  the  fourth  voyage  of  Americus;  and  here 
we  shall  be  helped  by  a  tabular  view 
showing  its  position  in  the  group  of  qnenoeof 
voyages  to  which  it  belonged.    The  tibird  STtwrd  o  " 

«^i        1  •         i*ii        A  •   ,     1    Columbus  to 

voyage  of  (Jolumbus,  in  which  he  skirted  that  of  m*. 
the  Pearl  Coast  for  a  short  distance,  had  '^ 
revealed  land  which  he  had  correctly  interpreted 
as  continental,  and  it  was  land  in  an  unexpected 
position.  His  letter  describing  this  voyage  did  not 
obtain  a  wide  circulation,  and  there  is  no  reason 
for  supposing  that  it  would  have  aroused  public 
attention  to  any  great  extent  if  it  had.  People's 
ideas  as  to  ^^continents''  and  ^4slands"  in  these 
remote  parts  were,  as  we  have  seen,  very  hazy; 
and  there  was  nothing  in  this  new  land  jwrth  of 
the  equator  to  suggest  the  idea  of  Quarta  Pars  or 
Mundus  Novus.  But  this  voyage  was  followed  up 
next  year  by  that  of  Ojeda  with  La  Cosa  and  Ves- 
pocius,  and  it  was  proved  that  the  Pearl  Coast 
opposed  quite  a  long  barrier  to  voyages  in  this 
direction  into  the  Indian  ocean.  The  triumphant 
return  of  Gama  from  Hindustan  in  midsummer 
of  1499  turned  all  eyes  toward  that  country. 
Cathay  and  Cipango  suffered  temporary  eclipse. 
The  pLlem  f c^pain  was  to  find  a%oute  into  the 
Indian  ocean,  either  to  the  west  or  to  the  east  of 
the  Pearl  Coast.  Thus  she  might  hope  to  find 
riches  in  the  same  quarter  of  the  globe  where  Por- 
tugal had  found  them.  As  the  Spanish  search 
went  on,  it  became  in  a  new  and  unexpected  way 
complicated  with  Portuguese  interests  through  the 
discovery  of  a  stretch  of  Brazilian  coast  lying  east 
of  the  papal  meridian.     Bearing  these  points  in 


166 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 


mind,  the  reader  will  be  helped  by  the  following 
dia&rram  in  which  some  of  the  voya^res  already  dis- 

about  to  consider.  The  numbers  refer  back  to 
the  numbers  in  my  fuller  table  of  voyages  on  pages 
62,  63  above,  and  here  as  there  the  Portuguese 
voyages  are  distinguished  by  italics. 


5.    Columbus  III. 
6.    Ojeda,  La  CoBa,  Vespuoius  II. 


4.    OAMA. 


10.   Bastidas,  La  Cosa. 
12.   Columbus  IV. 


15.   La  Cosa,  Vespucius  V. 
17.  La  Cosa,  Vespucius  VL 


/ 


■%    <■ 


West  of  Pearl  Coast. 


7.  Pinzon. 

8.  Lepe. 

9.     CahraL, 
11.     Vespucius  IIL 

13.  Vespucius  IV. 

14.  Jaques. 
18.   Piozon,  Solis. 

2g.  Solis. 

28.  Magellan. 

>i  y  »» 

East  of  Pearl  Coast. 


While  the  voyages  of  Bastidas  and  Columbus 
between  the  Pearl  Coast  and  Cape  Honduras  re- 
vealed no  passage  into  the  Indian  ocean, 
coeihoand  the  voyagcs  of  Pinzon,  Lepe,  and  Ves- 
pucius proved  that  from  Paria  to  Cape 
San  Eoque,  and  thence  southerly  and  southwesterly 
there  extended  a  continuous  coast  as  far  as  the  lat- 
itude of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  If  this  was  Cat- 
tigara  land,  or  part  of  Ptolemy's  southern  Terra 
Incognita,  might  it  be  possible  to  sail  aroimd  it 
and  enter  the  Indian  ocean?  Or  might  some  pas- 
sage be  found  connecting  the  waters  on  its  oppo- 
site sides?    If  such  a  passage  should  be  foupd,  of 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  167 

course  much  interest  would  attach  to  its  position, 
whether  east  or  west  of  the  papal  meridian.  It 
was  to  determine  such  points  as  these  that  two  ex- 
peditions sailed  from  Portugal  in  1503,  the  one 
commanded  by  GouQalo  Coelho,  the  other  by 
ChristovSo  Jaques.^  Coelho's  fleet  consisted  of 
six  ships,  one  of  which  was  commanded  by  Vespu- 
cius.  From  Hindustan  had  come  reports  of  the 
great  wealth  and  commanding  situation  of  the  city 
of  Malacca,  a  most  important  gateway  and  ware* 
house  for  the  Grangetic  sea,  and  much  farther  east 
and  south  than  Calcutta.  The  purpose  of  Coelho 
and  Jaques  was  to  investigate  the  relations  of  the 
Brazilian  coast  to  this  rich  gateway  of  the  East. 
Of  Jaques's  voyage  we  know  little  except  that  he 
seems  to  have  skirted  the  coast  of  Patagonia  as 
far  as  52°  S.,  and  may  have  caught  a  glimpse  of 
the  opening  which  Magellan  afterward  (by  sailing 
through  it)  proved  to  be  a  strait.  Why  he  should 
have  turned  and  gone  home,  without  verifying  this 
point,  is  a  question  which  will  naturally  occur  to 
the  reader  who  allows  himself  for  a  moment  to  for- 
get the  terrible  hardships  that  were  apt  to  beset 
these  mariners  and  frustrate  their  plans.  We 
shall  have  no  difficulty  in  understanding  it  when 
we  come  to  see  how.  the  crews  of  Magellan  felt 
about  entering  this  strait. 

^  The  date  1503  for  the  Jaques  voyage  has  been  doubted  (Vam- 
hagen,  Primeiras  negociades  diplomdticas  respectivas  ao  Brazil, 
Rio  Janeiro,  1843).  I  here  foUow  the  more  generally  received 
opinion.  For  the  French  voyage  of  GonneviUe  in  1504  on  the 
Brazilian  coast  as  far  as  26°  S.,  see  Avezac,  "Campagne  da 
navire  TEspoir  de  Honflenr/'  in  Annales  des  voyages,  juin  et 
jnillet,  1869;  GafParel,  Histoire  du  BrM  Frangais  au  seizihme 
siecUj  Paris,  1878. 


168 


THE  DISCOVJSBT  OF  AMERICA. 


As  for  Coelbo'B  expedition,  etartiiig  £rom  Lis- 
bon June  10,  1503,  its  first  stop  was  at  the  Cape 
Verde  islanda,  for  a  fresh  supply  of  vater  and 
ronithTimaa  otlier  provisions.  From  this  point  Ve»- 
— Zit?^^  pucius  wished  to  take  a  direct  coorae 
ho,  1KB.  Iqj,  Brazil,  but  Coelho  insisted  upon 
keeping  on  southerly  to  Sierra  Iieone,  for  no 
earthly  reason,  says  Americus  rather  tartly,  "un- 


ntiijf  ^t   It  xj  J t  jj    IF  j>  ^^ 


less  to  •xhibit  himself  as  tlte  captain  of  six  ships;"' 
but  I  suspect  that  while  the  scientifie  Italian  would 
have   steered  boldly  across    the   trackless   waste 

'  Ftam  tk*  wipaal  edition  of  dte  letter  to  Soderin,  Flotenca, 
1900-0(1,  plwtvgTapliecl  f  rooi  Vunk^eo'i  tMoamHa  icprodnctiiM. 

*  "  Kt  wow  uliMiMfo  ML)HtMH>  toafg^on  fvam  Imimio  p,  mmp- 
tMWu  A  ntullu  BBBiMUto  [J.  •■  IS>tiiif:ii«w  cabr^mio.  "  beadstroag  "], 

Itutl*  (UMUni    H  flMliSiMMT*    fat  S>m    tiuBK.    .    .    .    HBB    teneiB    BC- 

VMidSi  aJt'UUk,  ••  uu'  |\  tuai  uiMlent,  vl>'  en  ea^taao  di  su  bho," 


MUNDUS  N0VU8.  169 

gtraight  at  his  goal,  the  Portuguese  commander 
preferred  the  old-fashioned  and  more  timid  course 
of  following  two  sides  of  a  triangle  and  was  not 
going  to  take  advice  from  any  of  your  confounded 
foreigners.     But  as  several  of  the  captains  and 
pilots   sustained    Americus,   the   course   actually 
followed,  without  much  rhyme  or  reason,  looks 
like  the  resultant  of  a  conflict  of  opinions.     Early 
in  August,  after  much  rough  weather,  they  dis- 
covered a  small  uninhabited  island  near  the  Bra- 
zilian coast  in  latitude  3^  S.,  since  known  as  the 
island  of  Fernando   Noronha;   and  there  one  of 
the  ships,  a  carrack  of  300  tons  burthen,  in  which 
were  most  of  the  stores,  staved  in  her  bows  against 
a  rockand  ^^nothing  waA  saved  but  the  crew."     By 
the  chief  captain's  orders  Americus  with  his  own 
ship  sought  a  harbour  on  this  island  and  found  an 
excellent  one  about  four  leagues  distant.     His  boat 
had  been  retained  for  general  service  by  Coelho, 
who  promised  to  i»end  it  after  him  with  further 
instructions.      We  lire  not  informed  as  to  the 
weather,  but  it  was  probably  bad,  for  after  wait- 
ing a  week  in  the  harbour,  Americus  descried  one 
of  the  ships  on  her  way  to  him.     She  brought 
news  that  Coelho's  ship  had  gone  with  him  to  the 
bottom  and  the  other  two  had  disappeared.     So 
now  the  two  ships  of  Yespucius  and  his  consort, 
with  one  boat  between  them,  were  left  alone  at  this 
little   island.     ^^It  had  plenty  of  fresh  water," 
says  Americus,  **and  a  dense  growth  of  trees  filled 
with  innumerable  birds,  which  were  so  simple  that 
they  allowed  us  to  catch  them  with  our  hands. 
We  took  so  many  that  we  loaded  the  boat  with 


170  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

them."^  After  thus  providing  against  famine, 
they  sailed  to  the  Bay  of  All  Saints,  which  had 
be^n  designated  as  a  rendezvous  in  case  of  acci- 
dents, and  there  they  faithfully  waited  two  months 
in  the  vain  hope  of  being  overtskken  by  their 
comrades.  Then  giving  up  this  hope,  they 
weighed  anchor  again  and  followed  the  coast  south- 
ward to  Cape  Frio,  just  imder  the  tropic  of  Cap- 
ricorn. Finding  there  a  great  quantity  of  brazil- 
wood, they  decided  to  establish  a  colony  there,  and 
what  follows  we  may  let  Yespucius  tell  in  his  own 
words :  —  "In  this  port  we  staid  five  months,  build- 
ing a  block-house  and  loading  our  ships  with  dye- 
wood.  We  could  go  no  farther,  for  want  of  men 
and  equipments.     So  after  finishing  this  work  we 

decided  to  return  to  Portugal,  leaving 
the  letter  to     twcnty-four  men  in  the  fortress,  with 

twelve  pieces  of  cannon,  a  good  outfit  of 
small  arms,  and  provisions  for  six  months.^  We 
made  peace  with  all  the  natives  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, whom  I  have  not  mentioned  in  this  voyage, 
but  not  because  we  did  not  see  and  have  dealings 
with  great  numbers  of  them.  As  many  as  thirty 
of  us  went  forty  leagues  inland,  where  we  saw  so 


^  This  18  another  of  the  little  ohseryations  which  keep  imp] 
ing  UB  with  the  accoraoy  and  fidelity  of  Vespnoiiu  in  his  descrip- 
tions. Modem  natoralists  are  familiar  with  the  fact  that  on 
desolate  islands,  where  they  have  lived  for  many  generations  un- 
molested, birds  become  so  tame  that  they  can  be  oanght  by  hand, 
and  even  the  catching  of  a  multitude  of  them  will  not  f rig-hten 
the  others.  For  many  instances  of  this,  and  the  explanation,  see 
Darwin*s  Voyage  of  the  Beagle,  new  ed.,  London,  1870,  p.  896 ; 
Spencer*s  Eaaays,  2d  series,  London,  1864,  p.  134. 

'  This  little  colony  or  factory  at  Cape  Frio  was  still  kept  up  in 
Ifill  and  after.  See  Vamhagen,  HUtdre  ginhale  du  Brimlt 
torn.  L  p.  487. 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  171 

many  things  that  I  omit  to  relate  them,  reserving 
them  for  my  book,  the  Four  Journeys.  .  .  .  The 
bearer  of  this  letter,  Benvenuto  di  Domenico  Ben- 
venuti,  will  tell  your  Magnificence  of  .  .  .  such 
things  as  have  been  omitted  to  avoid  prolixity.  •  .  • 
I  have  made  the  letter  as  short  as  possible^  and 
refrained  from  mentioning  many  things  very  nat" 
ural  to  he  told^  through  fear  of  seeming  tedious^ 

This  passage,  and  especially  the  last  sentence 
which  I  have  italicized,  affords  abundant  explana- 
tion of  that  reticence  of  Vespucius  about  many 
things  which  we  should  like  to  know;  a  reticence 
which  the  bats  and  moles  of  historical  criticism, 
with  these  plain  words  staring  them  in  the  face, 
profess  to  regard  as  imaccountable  I 

When  Americus  arrived  at  Lisbon,  June  18, 
1504,  the  missing  ships  had  not  yet  arrived,  and 
were  given  up  for  lost,  but  after  some  time  they  re- 
turned, having  extended  their  explorations  perhaps 
as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  river  La  Flata.^ 

^  This  is  the  opinion  of  Yamhagen,  who  belieres  that  Jnan  de 
SoljB  was  then  in  the  Portnguese  service  and  in  this  fleet,  and  on 
this  occasion  made  his  first  acquaintance  with  the  river  La  Phita, 
which  would  almost  surely  he  mistaken  for  a  strait.  If  this 
opinion  as  to  Solis  be  sustained,  one  can  see  a  common  feature  in 
the  shifting  of  two  such  captains  as  Vespucius  and  Solis  from 
Spain  to  Portug^  and  back,  coupled  with  the  subsequent  trans- 
fer of  Magellan  from  the  Portuguese  service.  The  discovery  of 
Brazil  seemed  to  open  an  avenue  for  Portuguese  enterprise  in 
western  waters,  and  so  began  to  draw  over  navigators  from 
Spain  ;  but  by  1504  it  began  to  appear  that  the  limit  of  achieve- 
ment under  the  Portuguese  flag  in  that  direction  had  been  reached, 
and  so  the  tide  of  interest  set  back  toward  Spun.  If  Solis  saw 
La  Plata  in  1504  and  believed  it  to  be  a  strait,  he  must  have 
known  that  it  was  on  the  Spanish  side  of  the  line  of  demarcation. 
Its  meridian  is  moire  than  20^  west  of  Cape  San  Roque. 


172  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

For  some  reason  unknown  Yespucius  left  the 
service  of  Portugal  by  the  end  of  that  year  1504, 
or  somewhat  earlier.  This  step  may  have  been 
Americusre.  couuected  with  his  marriage,  which 
tunutoSpftin,  g^^g  to  havc  occurred  early  in  1505; 

it  may  have  been  because  he  had  become  suffi- 
ciently impressed  with  the  southwesterly  trend  of 
the  Brazilian  coast-line  to  realize  that  further  dis- 
coveries in  that  direction  would  best  be  conducted 
under  the  Spanish  flag ;  or  it  may  have  been  simply 
because  King  Ferdinand  outbid  King  Emanuel, 
whose  policy  was  too  often  pennywise.  At  any 
rate,  Americus  made  his  way  back  to  Spain.  In 
February,  1505,  just  before  starting  from  Seville 
on  his  journey  to  court,  he  called  on  his  sick  and 
harassed  friend  Columbus,  to  see  what  kind  service 
he  could  render  him.  The  letter  which  Vespucius 
carried  from  Coliunbus  to  his  son  Diego  is  very 
•nd  Tidu  Co-  interesting.^  The  Admiral  speaks  of 
lumbu..  Vespucius  in  terms  of  high  respect,  as 

a  thoroughly  good  and  honourable  man,  to  whom 
Fortune  had  not  rendered  such  rewards  as  his  la- 
bours deserved ;  a  staunch  friend  who  had  always 
done  his  best  to  serve  him  and  was  now  going  to 
court  with  the  determination  to  set  his  affairs  right 
if  possible.  There  is  something  very  pleasant  in 
the  relations  thus  disclosed  between  the  persecuted 
Discoverer,  then  almost  on  his  death-bed,  and  the 
younger  navigator,  to  whon^  yet  grosser  injustice 
was  to  be  done  by  a  stupid  and  heedless  world.^ 

1  The  original  is  preserred  in  the  family  archiyes  of  the  Dnke 
of  Veragnas,  and  a  copy  is  printed  in  NaTairete,  torn.  i.  p.  351. 
*  **  If  Bfot  among  tli^  gT8«tect.of  the  worid^s  great  men,  he  if 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  173 

The  transactions  of  Vespucius  at  court,  and  the 
nature  of  the  maritime  enterprises  that  were  set  on 
foot  or  carried  to  completion  during  the  next  few 
years,  are  to  be  gathered  chiefly  from  ThePimon 
old  account-books,  contracts,  and  other  2?nata^  ^ 
business  documents  unearthed  by  the  in-  f^c^t?ot 
def  atigable  Navarrete,  and  printed  in  his  ^^^^^^  ^^ 
great  collection.  The  four  chief  personages  in  the 
Spanish  marine  at  that  time,  the  experts  to  whom 
all  difiGicult  questions  were  referred  and  all  arduous 
enterprises  entrusted,  were  Vespucius  and  La  Cosa, 
Pinzon  and  Solis.  Unfortunately  account-books 
and  legal  documents,  having  been  written  for  other 
purposes  than  the  gratification  of  the  historian, 
are  —  like  the  "geological  record"  —  imperfect. 
Too  many  links  are  missing  to  enable  us  to  deter- 
mine with  certainty  just  how  the  work  was  shared 
among  these  mariners,  or  just  how  many  voyages 
were  undertaken.  But  it  is  clear  that  the  first 
enterprise  contemplated  was  a  v^oyage  by  Pinzon,  in 
company  with  either  Solis  or  Vespucius  or  both, 
in  the  direction  of  the  river  La  Plata,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  finding  an  end  to  the  continent  or  a  pas- 
sage into  the  Lidian  ocean.  What  Vespucius  had 
failed  to  do  in  his  last  voyage  for  Portugal,  he 
now  proposed  to  do  in  a  voyage  for  Spain.  It  was 
this  expedition,  planned  for  1506,  but  never  car- 
ried out,  that  Herrera  a  century  later  mistook  for 
tiiat  voyage  of  Pinzon  and  Solis  to  Honduras  and 

among  the  happiest  of  those  on  whom  good  fortune  has  hestowed 
renown."  S.  H.  Gay,  apnd  Winsor,  Narr.  and  Crit.  Hist.^  iL  152. 
Is  it,  then,  such  a  happy  fortune  to  he  unjostly  stigmatized  as  a 
liar  hy  ten  generations  of  men  ? 


174  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

the  gulf  of  Mexico  which  the  contemporary  Oviedo 
(supported  by  Martyr  and  confirmed  by  Gromara) 
positively  declares  to  have  been  made  before  1499. 
As  I  have  already  shown,  Pinzon  did  not  leave 
Spain  for  any  long  voyage  in  1506.^  The  remon- 
strances of  Portugal  put  a  stop  to  the  enterprise, 
and  the  ships  were  used  for  other  purposes. 

Meanwhile  the  search  for  a  passage  west  of  the 

Pearl  Coast  was  conducted  by  La  Cosa  and  Yes- 

pucius.     In  this  voyage,  from  May  to 

■izth  TojagM    December,  1505,  they  visited  the  gulf  of 

-^riZu"^    Darien  and  ascended  the  Atrato  river 

C<ML 

for  some  200  miles.  Of  late  years  it  has 
been  proposed  to  make  an  interoceanic  canal  by  con- 
necting this  river  with  the  San  Juan,  which  flows 
into  the  Pacific.  To  Yespucius  and  La  Cosa  it 
turned  out  not  to  be  the  strait  of  which  at  first  its 
general  aspect  had  given  promise,  but  in  its  shal- 
low upper  stretches  thev  found  its  sandy  bottom 
gleaming  and  glistening  ;ritli  particles  of  gold.  For 
three  months  they  explored  the  neighbouring  coun- 
tnr^  and  f oimd  (Jentr  of  gdd  in  the  wild  mountain 
streams  On  the  war  home  thev  seemed  to  have 
sU>pi)ed  on  the  Pearl  Coast  and  gathered  a  goodly 
stickre  of  }H\irL^  The  immediate  profit  of  the  voy- 
age was  ^>  grv^it  that  it  was  repeated  two  years 
lati>r«  During?  th<*  vessir  1506  Yespucius  was  busy 
in  S|vjun  }uv|VMrtii^  tlie  armament  for  Pinzon,  and 
vrktui^  in  MaroK  1507^  that  0X{vdition  was  aban- 
^t<i'in<(»«i)>  YtC!^mi(*itt*  aunt  La  C<^«i  stsurted  at  once  for 
iKp^  ll^xilir  %^  I>Mrk»i[i>  attxt  rHtume^l  in  November, 
li^x%  £i^glit^)  >»ritli  ^4il.    Tliiss  of  oourse,  was 


MUNDU8  N0VU8.  176 

purely  a  commercial  voyage.  But  during  the  sum- 
mer the  way  for  further  discovery  had  been  pre- 
pared, and  in  some  way  or  other  the  Portuguese 
difficulty  had  been  surmounted,  for  soon  after  New 
Year's,  1508,  Americus  told  the  Venetian  ambas- 
sador at  the  court  of  Spain  that  a  way  to  the  lands 
of  spice  was  to  be  sought,  and  that  the  ships  would 
start  in  March  without  fail.^ 

They  did  not  start,  however,  until  June  29.  In 
the  interval  La  Cosa  was  appointed  algvazU  mayor ^ 
or  high  constable  of  the  province  about  to  be  or- 
ganized at  the  guU  of  Darien,  and  afterwards  called 
Golden  Castile  {Castilla  dd  Oroy,  so  that,  as  we 
shall  by  and  by  see,  these  two  voyages  which  he 
made  with  Vespucius  were  the  first  links  in  the 

^  My  brief  mentioii  of  the  doings  of  Veflpnoins,  Piiizon,  Solia, 
and  La  Cosa,  between  1504  and  1509,  is  based  upon  the  original 
docnments  relating  to  these  four  nayigators  scattered  through  tiia 
third  Tolame  of  Navarrete's  Coleccion,  as  iUnminated  by  two 
precious  bits  of  information  sent  to  the  Venetian  senate  by  its 
diplomatic  agents  in  Spain.  The  letter  of  Qirolamo  Vianello 
from  Burgos,  December  23, 1505  (dated  1606,  according  to  an  old 
Spanish  usage  which  began  the  New  Tear  at  Christmas  and  some- 
times even  as  early  as  the  first  of  December),  establishes  the  fact 
of  the  fifth  voyage  of  Vespucius  in  1505.  This  letter  was  found 
in  Venice  by  the  great  historian  Banks,  and  a  few  lines  of  it 
copied  by  him  for  Humboldt,  who  published  the  scrap  in  his 
Examen  critique,  tom.  ▼.  p.  157,  but  was  puzzled  by  the  date,  be- 
cause Americus  was  indisputably  in  Spain  through  1506  (and 
Humboldt  supposed  through  1505  also,  but  a  more  attentire 
scrutiny  of  the  documents  shows  him  to  have  been  mistaken). 
Vamhagen,  delving  in  the  Biblioteca  di  San  Marco  at  Venice, 
again  found  the  letter,  and  a  copy  of  the  whole  is  printed,  with 
Taluable  notes,  in  his  Nouvellet  recherches^  pp.  12-17.  In  1867 
Mr.  Rawdon  Brown  discovered  in  Venice  the  two  brief  letters  of 
the  ambassador  Francesco  Comaro,  which  have  established  the 
nxth  voyage  of  Vespucius,  in  1507.  They  are  printed  in  Harrine, 
Bibl,  Amur.  VetUBt.^  Additiont,  Paris,  1872,  p.  zxviL 


176  TKE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

cliain  of  events  that  ended  in  the  conquest  of  Pero. 

In  March  Vespucius  received  his  appointment  as 

pilot  major,  which  kept  him  in  Spain,  and  his  place 

,«     in  the  voyage  with  Pinzon  was  taken 

VoyageofPin-  jo 

io^m4  Soils,  by  Solis,  who  had  probably  visited  the 
mouth  of  La  Plata  with  Coelho  in  1504. 
Pinzon  and  Solis  sailed  June  29,  followed  the 
Brazilian  coast,  passed  the  wide  mouth  of  that 
river  without  finding  it,  and  kept  on,  according  to 
Herrera,  as  far  as  the  river  Colorado,  in  latitude 
40°  S.  There  was  disagreement  between  the  two 
captains,  and  they  returned  home,  probably  some- 
what peevish  with  disappointment,  in  October, 
1509.  Nothing  more  was  done  in  this  direction 
for  six  years.  After  the  death  of  Vespucius  in 
1513,  he  was  succeeded  by  Solis  as  pilot  major  of 
Spain.  Pinzon  here  disappears  from  our  narra- 
tive, except  as  a  witness  in  the  Probanzas.  He 
seems  to  have  gone  on  no  more  voy- 
and  death  of     a^fcs.    He  was  cunobled  in  1519.^  Solis 

Solis,  1616-16.     ^*  ,  ,  1     #       .1  . 

started  on  another  search  for  the  nver 
La  Plata  in  October,  1515.  He  entered  that 
"fresh-water  sea"  (mar  dvlce)  the  following  Jan- 
uary, and  while  he  was  exploring  its  coast  in  a 
boat  with  eight  companions  the  Indians  suddenly 
swarmed  upon  the  scene.  Solis  and  his  men  were 
instantly  captured,  and  their  horrified  comrades  on 
shipboard,  unable  to  save  them,  could  only  look  on 
while  they  were  deliberately  roasted  and  devoured 
by  the  screaming  and  dancing  demons.^ 

^  See  the  doenment  in  Navarrete,  torn.  iii.  p.  145. 
^  The  words  of  Peter  Martyr  in  a  different  connection  might 
well  be  applied  here :  -*  "  they  came  mnniqge  owte  of  the  wooddflf 


MUNDU8  NOVUS.  177 

During  these  years  events  were  gradually  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  emergence  of  the  idea  of  a 
separate  New  World,  a  western  hemisphere  form- 
ing no  part  of  the  ancient  CEcumene.  Emergence  of 
There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  any  wi^^Slij. 
such  idea  was  ever  conceived  by  Ves-  5Jj2JiVM^^ 
pucius.  Its  emergence  was  so  gradual  ^^^ 
and  so  indefinite  that  it  is  not  easy  to  trace  it  in 
literary  documents  or  in  maps.  A  hypothetical 
indication  of  an  ocean  corresponding  in  position  to 
what  we  know  as  the  Pacific  may  be  seen  upon  the 
rude  map  of  the  Polish  geographer  Jan  Stobnicza, 
published  at  Cracow  in  1512,  in  an  Introduction 
to  Ptolemy.  Like  the  Tabula  Terre  Nbve^  it  is 
derived  from  a  conmion  original  with  the  Cantino 
map.  At  the  north  is  shown  the  land  discovered 
by  the  Cabots.  The  name  Isabella  is  transferred 
&om  Cuba  to  Florida,  and  the  legend  above  seems 
to  refer  to  the  "C.  de  bonauentura  "  of  the  Tabula 
Terre  ^ove.  Cape  San  Roque  in  Brazil  is  called 
"Caput  S.  Crucis."  The  rude  indication  of  the 
gulf  of  Mexico  is  repeated  from  the  Tabula  Terre 
Nove  or  its  prototype.  But  the  new  and  striking 
feature  in  this  Stobnicza  map  is  the  combination  of 
the  northern  and  southern  continents  with  an  ocean 
behind  them  open  all  the  way  from  north  to  south. 
As  the  existence  of  the  Pacific  was  still  imknown 
in  1512,  this  ocean  was  purely  hypothetical,  and 
80  was  the  western  coast-line  of  America,  if  it  is 

with  a  terrible  crye  and  most  horrible  aspect,  much  lyke  vnto  the 
people  canled  Pidi  Agathyrsi  of  whom  the  poete  yirgile  speak- 
eth.  ...  A  man  wold  thinke  them  to  bee  denylles  incarnate 
newly  broke  owte  of  hell,  they  are  soo  lyke  ynto  helhoundes." 
£den*8  translation,  1553,  dec.  L  bk.  tIL 


178  TEE  DISCOVEBY  OF  AMEBWA. 


IfUNDUS  SOVUS. 


180  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

proper  to  call  coast-line  this  mere  cut-off  drawn  in 
straight  lines  with  a  niler.  The  interest  of  this 
crude  map  lies  chiefly  in  its  suggestion  that  in  the 
maker's  mind  the  whole  transatlantic  coast  already 
visited  (except  the  Cabot  portion)  was  conceited 
not  as  part  of  Asia^  bttt  as  a  barrier  in  the  way 
of  reaching  Asia.  The  vague  adumbration  of  tba 
truth  appears  in  the  position  of  the  great  island 
Cipango  (^Zypangu  insula)  in  the  ocean  behind 
Mexico  and  some  600  miles  distant.  Before  Stob- 
nicza  such  maps  as  Ruysch's,  which  took  full  ac- 
count of  South  America  as  a  barrier,  detached  it 
from  what  little  was  known  of  North  America, 
which  was  still  reckoned  as  Asia.  The  peculiar 
combinations  of  land  and  water  in  Stobnicza's  map 
make  it  dimly  prefigure  the  result  attained  nearly 
thirty  years  afterward  by  Mercator.  The  sugges- 
tion was  in  advance  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  piuiacity  the  time,  and  the  map  does  not  seem  to 
^^  have  exerted  any  oomLnding influence; 
but  in  the  next  year  after  it  was  published  an  event 
occurred  which,  if  correctly  understood,  would 
have  seemed  to  justify  it.  In  1513  the  Terra 
Firma  was  crossed  at  its  narrowest  place,  and 
Yasco  NuSei  de  Balboa,  from  the  summit  of  a 
peak  in  Darien,  gazed  upon  an  expanse  of  waters, 
which,  as  we  have  since  learned,  made  part  of  the 
greatest  ocean  upon  the  globe.  ^ 

^  Colonel  Higgioson  wUl  pardon  me  for  enlfing  nttention  to  hb 
inadYertenoe  of  the  kind  wluch  I  KiaTe  already  so  often  character- 
ized as  projecting  oor  modem  knowledge  into  the  past :  —  ^  Co- 
htmbus  discorered  what  he  thoo^t  was  India  [i.  e.  Asia],  bat 
Balboa  proved  that  half  the  width  of  the  globe  still  separated 
him  fiom  India.**    Laager  History  ifftke  Umiud  States,  p.  TOl    If 


irUSDUB  NOVUS.  181 

It  was  not  so  miush,  however,  the  brief  glimpse 
of  Balboa  as  the  steady  eastward  prepress  of  the 
Portuguese  that  began  to  reveal  to  prac-  sutwud  pn- 
tieal  navigators  the  character  and  extent  E^Xi^^to 
of  the  waters  west  of  Mundus  Novus.  S^JS^*^ 
The  arrival  of  Portuguese  traders  in  the  '*"*-"■ 
Indian  ocean  was  the  signal  for  a  tremendous  strug- 
1^  for  commercial  supremacy.  In  every  seaport 
theyfound  Arabs,  or,  as  they  called  them,  "Moors," 
their  hereditary  enemies.  Arabs  held  nearly  all 
the  points  of  entrance  and  exit  in  that  ocean,  and 
the  Portuguese  at  once  perceived  the  necessity  of 
seizing  these  points.  Blows  were  exchanged  from 
the  start,  and  the  ensuing  warfare  forms  one  of  the 
most  romantic  chapteire  in  history.     It  would  not 

Balbo*  oovld  pTorg  thii  bj  standing  on  a  moQafaun  in  Darian  and 
looking  »t  the  vater  before  bim,  he  moat  hKre  had  s  tml;  maF- 
nllona  pair  of  eyea  I  Sncel;  he  had  no  poaitive  mean*  of  know- 
bg  that  thia  water  itretched  ava  j  for  more  than  a  haudred  milea. 
ittre  viait»  eoaieely  tamed  hia  diaeorer;  out  into  the  open  ocean 
barood  the  gulf  of  Panama,  thongh,  in  aoooidanee  with  infor- 
malion  reoeiTcd  fmta  the  Indiana,  be  righOy  Interpreted  it  m 
a  "South  Sea"  upon  which  one  might  hng  the  coaat  to  tba 
"  Oolden  Kingdom,"  aoon  to  be  known  an  Pern.  The  flnt  dia- 
eorersr  who  prored  the  width  of  the  Pacific  wu  Uaggltan,  who 
aailod  acroa  it.  —  Such  little  glipa  sa  the  one  here  crilidaed  ara 
oay  to  make,  and  one  cannot  feel  mre  that  one  doea  not  nnwit- 
tiagjy  do  H  oneaetf.  Thit  aid  poets  were  flagrant  sinnera  in  thia 
napect.  Lope  de  Vega,  in  a  famona  drama,  makea  Colnmbna 
know  of  "  the  New  World  "  eren  before  1492.  Why  is  it,  aaka 
Cbristopber  in  a  talk  with  hia  brotlier  Bartholomew,  why  is  it 
tlut  I,  a  poor  pQot,  a  man  with  broken  fortODea,  yearn  to  add  to 
llu*  world  another,  and  socb  a  Ten>ate  one  ?  — 
Un  bombn  pobrB,  j  auD  loto, 


B  JTmm  Ifmit  DttaMtrtt,  Jms,  L 


182  THE  DI8C0VEBT  OF  AMERICA. 

he  easy  to  point  out  two  commanders  more  swift 
in  intelligence,  more  fertile  in  resource,  more  un- 
conquerable in  action,  than  Francisco  de  Almeida 
and  Alfonso  de  Albuquerque.  The  result  of  their 
work  was  the  downfall  of  Arab  power  in  the  In- 
dies, and  the  founding  of  that  great  commercial 
empire  which  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Portu- 
guese until  it  was  taken  from  them  by  the  Dutch.^ 
On  the  African  coast,  from  So&la  to  tibe  strait  of 
Bab-d-Mandeb,  the  Portuguese  held  all  the  im- 
portant trading  stations.  They  seized  tihe  island 
of  Socotra,  established  th^nselves  in  force  along 
the  coasts  of  Oman  and  Midoan,  and  capturing  the 
wealthy  Hormuz  they  gained  secure  control  of  the 
outlet  to  tihe  TaUey  of  the  Euphrates.  They  held 
the  whole  western  coast  of  Hindustan  from  above 
Bombay  down  to  Cape  Comorin,  while  on  the  Coro- 
mandel  coast  they  had  stations  at  Mylapur  and 
Negapatam.  In  1506  Almeida  first  visited  Ceylon, 
which  was  afterward  annexed  to  tihe  Portuguese 
empire*  In  1508  Sequeira  advanced  as  far  as 
Sumatra,  and  in  1511  the  &mous  Malacca,  the 
Gfateway  of  the  EasA^  was  conqnered  by  Albu- 
querque. The  way  to  the  ^lands  where  the  spices 
gi^w""*  was  thus  atlasl  laid  open,  and  Albuquerque 


1  TW  Kwrr  of  triW  Bm»HK^>w  ^wfih^  m  At  Bart  IndSea  is  toM 
VTRttTNw^  AmiMft«»<A»  J^MkLMMk  ITTfi-^  with  tlw  ooDtunia- 
iMi  Vt  CMMvk  te  dU  ^  xwl^ :   R«w  AiCawo  de  Alboqiierqiie, 

CVm«MiMrW  4f>  'p^utmA  ^^{j^im»  l>ifl3?»ftyM"f*  Lsboot  1774,  in 
4  xyJIik.  I  ^x^  «W  4«i)iM  ^  nt^r  «wii  <wfwwL.  vbidi  are,  I  thinkf 
iW  Wft  <MlkMiwt  TW  ^:rMa»  wvffit  «f  Rnros  bc^aa  to  be  pob- 
Vi*JW««4  ^  )XX2;:  iI«m  ^  JUWk^^m«^««v. «mi  «(  ike  coaqacrar,  was 
fiMiiM)*^  ^  (;X>n:s    ^^  4Jbi>  IFMa  :t  $Maa»  Asia  Fortrngmga, 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  188 

had  no  sooner  riveted  his  clutch  upon  Malacca  than 
he  sent  Antonio  d'Abreu  and  Francisco  Serrano, 
with  three  galleons,  to  make  a  friendly  visit  to  the 
Spice  Islands  par  excellence^  the  Moluccas.  Sail- 
ing down  by  Java,  and  between  Celebes  and  Flores, 
this  little  fleet  visited  Amboina  and  Banda,  and 
brought  away  as  heavy  a  load  of  nutmegs  and 
cloves  as  it  was  safe  to  carry.  ^  Six  years  after- 
ward, in  1517,  Femam  de  Andrade  conducted  the 
first  European  ship  that  ever  sailed  to  China.  He 
reached  Canton  and  entered  into  friendly  commer- 
cial relations  with  that  city. 

Thus  data  were  beginning  to  accumulate  in  evi- 
dence that  the  continent  of  Asia  did  not  extend 
nearly  so  far  to  the  east  as  Toscanelli  and  Colum- 
bus had  supposed.  A  comparison  of  longitudes, 
moreover,  between  the  Moluccas  and  the  Brazilian 
coast  could  hardly  fail  to  brine  out  the  ^, 

•^  °  Dim  rodimen- 

fact  of  a  great  distance  between  them.  Jfy  concep- 

^  °        ,  tion  of  a  aep»- 

Still  theory  did  not  advance  so  surely  rateocewib©- 

,  ,        ,  •'     tween  Mundua 

and  definitely  as  it  might  seem  to  us  with  ^^  ^^ 
the  modem  map  in  our  minds.  The 
multitude  of  unfamiliar  facts  was  bewildering,  and 
the  breadth  of  the  Pacific  ocean  was  too  much  for 
the  mind  to  take  in  except  by  actual  experience. 
We  have  now,  in  concluding  this  long  chapter, 
to  consider  the  heroic  career  of  the  man  who  fin- 
ished what  Columbus  had  begun,  and  fumiihed 
proof  —  though  even  this  was  not  immediately  un- 
derstood —  that  the  regions  discovered  by  the  Ad- 
miral belonged  to  a  separate  world  from  Asia. 

^  For  some  account  of  the  Spice  Islands  and  their  farther  his- 
tory, see  Arg<en8ola,  Conquista  de  las  idaa  MolucaSf  Madrid,  1609^ 
folio. 


I 


184  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

Ferdinand  Magellan,  as  we  call  him  in  English,^ 
was  a  Portuguese  nobleman  of  the  fourth  grade, 
but  of  family  as  old  and  blood  as  blue  as  any  in 
Ferdfaumd  the  pouinsula.  He  was  bom  at  Sabrosa, 
^**'"'"  near  Chaves,^  in  one  of  the  wildest  and 
gloomiest  nooks  of  Tras-os-Montes,  in  or  about  the 
year  1480.  The  people  of  that  province  have  al- 
ways been  distinguished  for  a  rugged  fidelity,  com- 
bined with  imoonquerable  toughness  of  fibre,  that 
reminds  one  of  the  Scotch;  and  from  those  lonely 
mountains  there  never  came  forth  a  sturdier  char- 
acter than  Ferdinand  Magellan.  Difficulty  and 
danger  fit  to  baffle  the  keenest  mind  and  daunt  the 
strongest  heart  only  incited  this  man  to  efforts  well- 
nigh  superhuman.  In  his  portrait,  as  given  in 
Navarrete,'  with  the  great  arching  brows,  the  fieiy 

^  The  Portni^ese  name  is  Fernlo  da  MagalliSes ;  in  Spanish  it 
beoomes  Fernando  de  Magallanes,  pronofonoed  Mah'gah4jfdh-naj/$. 
In  English  one  often,  perhaps  eommonly,  hears  it  as  M<i-jel'4an, 
One  does  not  like  to  be  pedantio  in  each  trifles,  and  I  don*t  mind 
■langhtering  a  eonsonant  or  two  when  necessary,  bnt  to  shift  the 
aecent  of  a  woid  seems  to  destroy  its  identity,  so  that  Ma-jd4an*f 
whieh  we  sometimes  hear,  seems  preferable. 

Ttm  doonmentary  aovroes  of  the  Hf  e  of  Magellan  an  ehiefiy  to 
be  foond  in  the  fourth  rolome  of  NaTazrete^s  Colecdcn  de  viageM, 
The  early  accounts  of  his  Toyage  have  been  collected  and  trans- 
lated by  the  late  Loid  Stanley  of  Alderiey,  7^  Firtt  Voyage 
Rmimd  the  WeM.  London,  l$7i  (Uaklnyt  Society).  A  good 
biography^  afanoMt  the  first  in  any  langnage,  has  lately  appeared 
in  Ev^ish :  QniUemard,  Tke  Lifi  rfFerdinamd  Magellan  and  the 
fVraf  Cirtwmmiit^faitMm  ^the  G/•^l',  London,  1890. 

*  Varions  wfitiMS  bate  gitmi  Lisbon,  or  Opocto,  or  some  Tillage 
in  firtmnadnm  as  baa  bM^^laee ;  bnt  Sabroea  seems  dearly  es- 
tablished.  SiMtbei«feM«oel«»biafimtwill,inGnillemaid,p.23. 

*  CWWrMn  4f  rH^3lv«,  t«MM.  ir,  p.  xxiT, :  it  is  reprodnced  in  Lord 
tenW^Ni  t^lwone;  in  WiatMv  Smts  mmd  CrU.  HitL,  il  503;  and 
4w«^MiMi  b«%«MfiilillM«fM«iMilMHqplalilyinN«iraB«t6b 


MUNDUS  NOVUS,  185 

eyes,  the  firm-set  lips,  and  mastiff  jaw,  coy- 
but  not  concealed  by  the  shaggy  beard,  the 
^  is  abnost  appalling.    Yet  in  all  this  power 

was  nothing  cruel.  Magellan  was  kind- 
id  and  unselfish,  and  on  more  than  one  ocea- 
^e  see  him  risking  his  life  in  behalf  of  others 
generosity  worthy  of  a  paladin, 
bhing  is  known  of  his  childhood  and  youth 
t  that  at  an  early  age  he  went  to  Lisbon  and 
rought  up  in  the  royal  household.  In  1505 
ibarked  as  a  yolimteer  in  the  armada  which 
rilliant  and  high-souled  Almeida,  first  For- 
se  viceroy  of  India,  was  taking  to  the  East. 
)  followed  seven  years  of  service  under  this 
lander  and  his  successor  Albuquerque.  Seven 
of  anxious  sailing  over  strange  waters,  check* 
nrith  wild  fights  against  Arabs  and  Malays, 
id  Magellan  for  the  supreme  work  that  was 
ne.  He  was  in  Sequeira's  expe-  Beaueira't  ex. 
I  to  Malacca,  in  1508-09,  the  first  K^ 
that  European  ships  had  ventured  '*^****^  * 
jf  Ceylon.  While  they  were  pi'eparing  to 
in  a  cargo  of  pepper  and  ginger,  the  astute 
y  king  was  plotting  their  destruction.  His 
lly  overtures  deceived  the  frank  and  somewhat 
isuspicious  Sequeira.  Malay  sailors  and  trad- 
ere  allowed  to  come  on  board  the  four  ships, 
U  but  one  of  the  boats  were  sent  to  the  beach, 
*  conunand  of  Francisco  Serrano,  to  hasten 
ringing  of  the  cargo.  Upon  the  quarter-deck 
3  flagship  Sequeira  sat  absorbed  in  a  game  of 
,  with  half-a-dozen  dark  faces  intently  watch- 
lim,  their  deadly  purpose  veiled  with  polite 


186  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

words  and  smiles.  Ashore  the  houses  rose  terrace- 
like upon  the  hillside,  while  in  the  foreground  the 
tall  tower  of  the  citadel — square  with  pyramidal 
apex,  like  an  Italian  bell-tower — glistened  in  the 
September  sunshine.  The  parties  of  Malays  on 
the  ships,  and  down  on  the  bustling  beach,  cast 
furtive  glances  at  this  smnmit,  from  which  a  puff 
of  smoke  was  presently  to  announce  the  fatal  mo- 
ment. The  captains  and  principal  officers  on  ship- 
board were  at  once  to  be  stabbed  and  their  vessels 
seized,  while  the  white  men  ashore  were  to  be  mas- 
sacred. But  a  Persian  woman  in  love 
Bernmo  aaved   with  ouc  of  the  officcrs  had  giveu  tardy 

by  Magellan.  .  «         .  ii»i/». 

wammg,  so  that  just  before  the  firing 
of  the  signal  the  Portuguese  sailors  began  chasing 
the  squads  of  Malays  from  their  decks,  while 
Magellan,  in  the  only  boat,  rowed  for  the  flag- 
ship, and  his  stentorian  shout  of  ^^  Treason!  "  came 
just  in  time  to  save  Sequeira.  Then  in  wild  con- 
fusion, as  wreaths  of  white  smoke  curled  about 
the  fatal  tower,  Serrano  and  a  few  of  his  party 
sprang  upon  their  boats  and  pushed  out  to  sea. 
Most  of  their  comrades,  less  fortimate,  were  sur- 
rounded and  slaughtered  en  the  beach.  Nimble 
Malay  skiffs  pursued  and  engaged  Serrano,  and 
while  he  was  struggling  against  overwhelming 
odds,  Magellan  rowed  up  and  joined  battle  with 
such  desperate  fury  that  Serrano  was  saved.  No 
sooner  were  all  the  surviving  Portuguese  brought 
together  on  shipboard  than  the  Malays  attacked 
in  full  force,  but  European  guns  were  too  much 
for  them,  and  after  several  of  their  craft  had  been 
sent  to  the  bottom  they  withdrew. 


ri  t-tfAAJJiljC:^* 


MUNDUS  NOVUS,  187 

This   affair  was  the  beginning  of    a  devoted 
friendship  between  Magellan  and  Serrano,  sealed 
by  many  touching  and  romantic  incidents,  like  the 
friendship  between  Gerard  and  Denys 
in  ^^The  Cloister  and  the  Hearth; "  and  ahim^ck, 
it  was  out  of  this  friendship  that  in  great  ^uSL 
measure  grew  the  most  wonderful  voy- 
age recorded  in  history.     After  Albuquerque  had 
taken  Malacca  in  1511,  Serrano  commanded  one 
of  the   ships  that  made  the   first  voyage  to  the 
Moluccas.     On  its  return  course  his  vessel,  loaded 
with   spices,  was  wrecked  upon  a  lonely  island 
which  had  long  served  as  a  kir  for  pirates.    Frag- 
ments  of  wreckage  strewn  upon  the  beach  lured 
ashore  a  passing  gang  of  such  ruffians,  and  while 
they  were  intent  upon  delving  and  searching,  Ser- 
rano's  men,  who  had  hidden  among  the  rocks, 
crept  forth  and  seized  the  pirate  ship'.     The  near- 
est place  of  retreat  was  the  island  of  Amboina, 
and  this  accident  led  Serrano  back  to  the  Moluc- 
cas, where  he  established  himself  as  an  ally  or 
quasi-protector  of  the  king  of  Temate,  and  re- 
mained for  the  rest  of  his  short  life.    Letters  from 
Serrano  aroused  in  Magellan  a  strong  desire  to 
follow  his  friend  to  that  ^^new  world  "  in  the  In- 
dian waves,  the  goal  so  long  dreamed  of,  so  eagerly 
sought,  by  Columbus  and  many  another,  but  now 
for  the  first  time  actually  reached  and  grasped. 
Bat  circumstances  came  in  to  modify  ^„„^ 
most  curiously  this  aim  of  Magellan's,   ^w^^i^ 
He  had  come  to  learn  something  about  iJIS^po^Sf**^ 
the  great  ocean  intervening  between  the  ^^^  waters. 
Malay  seas  and  Mundus  Novns,  but  failed  to  form 


188  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

• 

any  conception  of  its  width  at  all  approaching  the 
reality.  It  therefore  seemed  to  him  that  the  line 
of  demarcation  antipodal  to  Borgia's  meridian 
must  fall  to  the  west  of  the  Moluccas,  and  that 
his  friend  Serrano  had  ventured  into  a  region 
which  must  ultimately  be  resigned  to  Spain.  In 
this  opinion  he  was  wrong,  for  the  meridian  which 
cuts  through  the  site  of  Adelaide  in  Australia 
would  have  come  near  the  line  that  on  that  side 
of  the  globe  marked  the  end  of  the  Portuguese 
half  and  the  beginning  of  the  Spanish  half;  but 
the  mistake  was  easy  to  make  and  hard  to  correct. 
About  this  time  some  cause  unknown  took  Ma- 
gellan back  to  Lisbon,  where  we  find  him  in  the 
midsummer  of  1512.  His  hope  of  a  speedy  return 
to  India  was  disappointed.  Whether  on  account 
of  a  slight  disagreement  he  had  once  had  with  Al- 
buquerque, or  for  some  other  reason,  he  found  him- 
self out  of  favour  with  the  king.  A  year  or  more 
of  service  in  Morocco  followed,  in  the  course  of 
which  a  Moorish  lance  wounded  Magellan  in  the 
knee  and  lamed  him  for  life.  After  his  return  to 
Portugal  in  1514,  it  became  evident  that  King 
Emanuel  had  no  further  employment  for  him.  He 
became  absorbed  in  the  study  of  navigation  and 
cosmography,  in  which  he  had  always  felt  an  inter- 
est.    It  would  have  been  strange  if  an  inquiring 

mind,  trained  in  the  court  of  Lisbon  in 
r«t^  to '  those  days,  had  not  been  stirred  by  the 
•cbeiM  for  fascination  of  such  studies.  How  early 
wan)  to  tb«      in  life  Magellan  had  begun  to  breathe 

in  the  art  of  seamanship  with  the  salt 
breeses  from  the  Atlantic  we  do  not  know;  but 


MUNDUS  N0VU8,  189 

at  some  time  the  results  of  scientific  study  were 
combined  with  his  long  experience  in  East  Indian 
waters  to  make  him  a  consummate  master.  He 
conceived  the  vast  scheme  of  circimmavigating  the 
globe.  Somewhere  upon  that  long  coast  of  Mun- 
dus  Novus,  explored  by  Vespucius  and  Coelho, 
Jaques  and  Solis,  there  was  doubtless  a  passage 
through  which  he  could  sail  westward  and  greet 
his  friend  Serrano  in  the  Moluccas  I 

Upon  both  of  Schoner's  globes,  of  1515  and 
1520,  such  a  strait  is  depicted,  connecting  the 
southern  Atlantic  with  an  ocean  to  the  west  of  Mun- 
dus  Novus.  This  has  raised  the  question  whether 
any  one  had  ever  discovered  it  before  Magellan.^ 
That  there  was  in  many  minds  a  belief  in  the  exist- 
ence of  such  a  passage  seems  certain ;  whether  be- 
cause the  wish  was  father  to  the  thought, 
or  because  the  mouth  of  La  Plata  had  schoner's 
been  reported  as  the  mouth  of  a  strait,  or 
because  Jaques  had  perhaps  looked  into  the  strait 
of  Magellan,  is  by  no  means  clear.  But  without 
threading  that  blind  and  tortuous  labyrinth,  as 
Magellan  did,  for  more  than  300  geographical 
miles,  successfully  avoiding  its  treacherous  bays 
and  channels  with  no  outlet,  no  one  could  prove 
that  there  was  a  practicable  passage  there;  and 
there  is  no  good  reason  for  supposing  that  any  one 
had  accomplished  such  a  feat  of  navigation  before 
Magellan. 

*  See  the  discussion  in  Wieser,  MagalhCtes-Strasse  und  Austral' 
Continerd  auf  den  Globen  des  Johannes  Schdner,  Innsbruck,  1881 ; 
Kohl,  GescMchU  der  JEntdeekungsreisen  und  Schiff-fahrten  zur 
Magdlans-Strasae,  Berlin,  1877 ;  Winsor,  Narr.  and  Crit.  Hist^ 
ym.  375-387 ;  GiuUeniaTd's  MageUan,  pp.  18&-198. 


190  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

The  scheme  of  thus  reaching  the  Moluccas  by 
the  westward  voyage  was  first  submitted  to  King 
Emanuel.  To  him  was  offered  the  first  opportunity 
for  ascertaining  whether  these  islands  lay  within 
his  half  of  the  heathen  world  or  not.  He  did  not 
smile  upon  the  scheme,  though  he  may  have  laughed 
at  it.  The  papal  bulls  and  the  treaty  of  Tordesil- 
las  prohibited  the  Spaniards  from  sailing 
proposaiB  ar«    to  thc  ludics  bv  wav  of  the  Cape  of  Good 

rejected  by  w         ./  x 

the  king  of  Hopc ;  and  unless  they  could  get  through 
the  barrier  of  Mundus  Novus  there  was 
no  danger  of  their  coming  by  a  westerly  route. 
Why  not  let  well  enough  alone?  Apparently 
Emanuel  did  not  put  much  faith  in  the  strait.  We 
are  told  by  Caspar  Correa  that  Magellan  then 
asked  the  royal  permission  to  go  and  offer  his  ser- 
vices to  some  other  master.  ^^The  King  said  he 
might  do  what  he  pleased.  Upon  this  Magellan 
desired  to  kiss  his  hand  at  parting,  but  the  King 
would  not  offer  it.'*  ^ 

The  alternative  was  thus  offered  to  Magellan  of 

abandoning  his  scheme  of  discovery  or  entering  the 

service  of  Spain,  and  he  chose  the  lat- 

aira  Accord- 

ingly  he  ter  coursc.    For  this  he  has  been  roimdly 

enter*  tlie  '' 

gJ^o<  abused,  not  only  by  Portuguese  writers 
from  that  day  to  this,  but  by  others 
who  seem  to  forget  that  a  man  has  as  dear  a  right 
to  change  his  country  and  his  allegiance  as  to 
move  his  home  from  one  town  to  another.  In  the 
relations  between  state  and  individual  the  duty  is 
not  all  on  one  side.  As  Faria  y  Sousa,  more  sen- 
sible than  many  of  his  countrymen,  observes,  the 


IWNDUS  NOVUS.  191 

great  navigator  did  all  that  honour  demanded 
when  by  a  special  clause  in  his  agreement  with 
Spain  he  pledged  himself  to  do  nothing  prejudicial 
to  the  interests  of  Portugal.^ 

It  was  in  October,  1517,  that  Magellan  arrived  in 
Seville  and  became  the  guest  of  Diego  Barbosa^ 
alcaide  of  the  arsenal  there,  a  Portuguese  gentle- 
man who  had  for  several  years  been  in  the  Spanish 
service.  Before  Christmas  of  that  year  Magellan's 
he  was  married  to  his  host's  daughter  "»*'^**8«- 
Beatriz  de  Barbosa,  who  accompanied  him  to  the 
court.  Magellan  foimd  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the 
boy  king,  Charles  V.,  and  even  obtained  active 
support  from  Bishop  Fonseca,  in  spite  of  that  pre- 
late's ingrained  hostiUty  to  noble  schemes  and  hon- 
Durable  men.  It  was  decided  to  fit  out  an  expe- 
dition to  pursue  the  search  in  which  Solis  had 
lately  lost  his  life.  More  than  a  year  was  con- 
sumed in  the  needful  preparations,  and  it  was  not 
until  September  20,  1519,  that  the  little  fleet 
cleared  the  mouth  of  the  Guadalquivir  and  stood 
out  to  sea. 

There  were  five  small  ships,  commanded  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

1.  Trinidad,  110  tons,  captain-general  Ferdi- 
nand Magellan,  pilot,  Estevan  Gomez; 

2.  San  Antonio,  120  tons,  captain  Juan  de 
Cartagena; 

3.  Concepcion,  90  tons,  captain  Gaspar  Que< 
sada; 

^  Faria  y  Sotisa,  Comentarios  d  la  Lusiada  de  Camtks,  x.  140; 
Gnilleiiutrd,  p.  85.  Cf .  Lord  Stanley  of  Alderley,  First  Voyage 
Bound  the  World,  pp.  ii-xv. 


192  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

4.  Victoria,  85  tons,  captain  Luis  de  Mendoza; 

5.  Santiago,  75  tons,  captain  Juan  Serrano. 

It  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  shiftlessness 
with  which  things  were  apt  to  be  done  by  the  gov- 
ernment, and  the  difficulties  under  which  great  nav- 
shiiw  and  igators  accomplished  their  arduous  work^ 
SSt**M^-  *^^*  these  five  ships  were  all  old  and  de- 
****"•  cidedly  the  worse  for  wear.    All  seem  to 

have  been  decked,  with  castles  at  the  stem  and  fore. 
About  280  men  were  on  board,  a  motley  crew  of 
Spaniards  and  Portuguese,  Genoese  and  Sicilians, 
Flemings  and  French,  Germans  and  Greeks,  with 
one  Englishman  from  Bristol,  and  a  few  negroes 
and  Malays.  Of  Portuguese  there  were  at  least 
seven-and-thirty,  for  the  most  part  men  attached 
to  Magellan  and  who  had  left  their  country  with 
him.  It  was  fortunate  that  he  had  so  many  such, 
for  the  wiles  of  King  Emanuel  had  pursued  him 
into  Spain  and  out  upon  the  ocean.  When  that 
sovereign  learned  that  the  voyage  was  really  to  be 
made,  he  determined  that  it  must  not  be  allowed 
to  succeed.  Hired  ruffians  lurked  about  street 
comers  in  Seville,  waiting  for  a  chance  that  never 
came  for  rushing  forth  and  stabbing  the  wary  nav- 
igator; orders  were  sent  to  captains  in  the  East 
Indies  —  among  them  the  gallant  Sequeira  whom 
Magellan  had  saved  —  to  intercept  and  arrest  the 
fleet  if  it  should  ever  reach  those  waters;  and, 
worst  of  aU,  the  seeds  of  mutiny  were  busily  and 
but  too  successfully  sown  in  Magellan's  own  ships. 
Tnutortin  Of  the  four  Subordinate  captains  only 
the  ttert.         ^^^  ^^^  faithful.     Upou  Juau  Serrano, 

the  brother  of  his  dearest  friend,  Magellan  could 


MUNDUS  NOVVa.  193 

absolutely  rely.  The  others,  Cartagena,  Men- 
doza,  and  Quesadoi  suled  out  from  port  with 
treason  in  their  hearts.  A  few  days  after  their 
start  a  small  caravel  overtook  the  Trinidad,  with 
an  anxious  message  to  Magellan  from  his  wife's 
father,  Barbosa,  begging  him  to  be  watchful,  "  since 
it  had  come  to  his  knowledge  that  his  captains  had 
told  their  friends  and  relations  that  if  they  had 
any  trouble  with  him  they  would  kill  him."  For 
reply  the  commander  counselled  Barbosa  to  be  of 
good  cheer,  for  be  they  true  men  or  false  he  feared 
them  not,  and  would  do  his  appointed  work  all 
the  same.^  For  Beatrix,  left  with  her  little  son, 
Rodrigo,  six  months  old,  the  outlook  must  have 
been  anxious  enough. 

Our  chief  source  of  information  for  the  events 
of  the  voyage  is  the  journal  kept  by  a  gentleman 
from  Yicenza,  the  Chevalier  Antonio  Pigafetta, 
vbo  obtained  permission  to  accompany  p|_,,m^ 
die  expedition,  "for  to  see  the  marvels  J^""""- 
of  the  ocean."  ^     After  leaving  the  Canai-ies  on  the 
3d  of  October  the  armada  ran  down  toward  Si- 
erra Leone  and  was  becalmed,  making  only  three 
leagues  in  three   weeks.     Then    "the   upper   air 
burst  into  life"  and  the  frail  ships  were  driven 
along  under  bare   poles,  now  and  then   dipping 
their  yard-ants.     During  a  month  of  cn»ingth« 
this   dreadfid   weather,    the   food    and  a'"""''- 
water  grew  scarce,  and  the  rations   were   dimin- 

1  Coma,  Lendai  da  India,  tola.  ii.  p.  627  ;  Gnillemard,  p.  149. 

'  PigafettB'i  joanul  U  contuned,  vith  other  dooaments,  in  the 
book  of  Lord  Stanley  of  AlderleT,  atreadj  citad.  Then  U  alM> 
a  French  editdcm  by  Amoretd,  Premier  Vai/age  auteur  ifu  MomU, 
?iin.  1800. 


194  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

ished.  The  spirit  of  mutiny  began  to  show  itself. 
The  Spanish  captains  whispered  among  the  crews 
that  this  man  from  Portugal  had  not  their  interests 
at  heart  and  was  not  loyal  to  the  Emperor.  To- 
ward the  captain  -  general  their  demeanour  grew 
more  and  more  insubordinate,  and  Cartagena  one 
day,  having  come  on  board  the  flagship,  faced  him 
with  threats  and  insults.  To  his  astonishment  Ma- 
gellan promptly  collared  him,  and  sent  him,  a  pris- 
oner in  irons,  on  board  the  Victoria  (whose  captain 
was  imf  ortunately  also  one  of  the  traitors),  while 
the  command  of  the  San  Antonio  was  given  to  an- 
other ofiEicer.  This  example  made  things  quiet  for 
the  moment. 

On  the  29th  of  November  they  reached  the  Bra- 
zilian coast  near  Pernambuco,  and  on  the  11th  of 
January  they  arrived  at  the  mouth  of 

winter  quar-      _  "  ^  •  t      j  .  .  i         aa      • 

ten  at  Port      Jja  Plata,  which  tnev  mvesticated  sum- 

Bt.  Julian.  .  .  "  ®     , 

ciently  to  convince  them  that  it  was  a 
river's  mouth  and  not  a  strait.  Three  weeks  were 
consmned  in  this  work.  Their  course  through 
February  and  March  along  the  coast  of  Patagonia 
was  marked  by  incessant  and  violent  storms,  and 
the  cold  became  so  intense  that,  finding  a  sheltered 
harbour,  with  plenty  of  fish,  at  Port  St.  Julian, 
they  chose  it  for  winter  quarters  and  anchored 
there  on  the  last  day  of  March.  On  the  next 
day,  which  was  Easter  Sunday,  the  mutiny  that 
so  long  had  smouldered  broke  out  in  all  its  fury. 

The  hardships  of  the  voyage  had  thus  f:ir  been 
what  staunch  seamen  called  unusually  severe,  and 
it  was  felt  that  they  had  done  enough.  No  one 
except  Yespucius  and  Jaques  had  ever  approached 


MUNDUS  NOV  US.  195 

80  near  to  the  south  pole,  and  if  they  had  not  yet 
found  a  strait,  it  was  doubtless  because  there  was 
none  to  find.  The  rations  of  bread  and  wine  were 
becoming  very  short,  and  conunon  pru-  »«.«„,  i^r 
dence  demanded  that  they  should  re-  E^™/"^^ 
turn  to  Spain.  K  their  voyage  was  f^^*'"*" 
practically  a  failure  it  was  not  their 
fault;  there  was  ample  excuse  in  the  frightful 
storms  they  had  suffered  and  the  dangerous  strains 
that  had  been  put  upon  their  worn-out  ships. 
Such  was  the  general  feeling,  but  when  expressed 
to  Magellan  it  fell  upon  deaf  ears.  No  excuses, 
nothing  but  performance,  would  serve  his  turn; 
for  him  hardships  were  made  only  to  be  despised 
and  dangers  to  be  laughed  at;  and,  in  short,  go 
on  they  must,  until  a  strait  was  found  or  the  end 
of  that  continent  reached.  Then  they  would  doubt- 
less find  an  open  way  to  the  Moluccas,  and  while 
he  held  out  hopes  of  rich  rewards  for  aU,  he  ap- 
pealed to  their  pride  as  Castilians.  For  the  in- 
flexible determination  of  this  man  was  not  em- 
bittered by  harshness,  and  he  could  wield  as  well 
as  any  one  the  language  that  soothes  and  persuades. 
So  long  as  aU  were  busy  in  the  fight  against 
wind  and  wave,  the  captain-general's  arguments 
were  of  avail.  But  the  deliberate  halt  to  face  the 
hardships  of  an  antarctic  winter,  with  no  jprospect 
of  stirring  until  toward  September,  was  too  much. 
Patience  under  enforced  inactivity  was  a  virtue 
higher  than  these  sailors  had  yet  been  called  upon 
to  exhibit.  The  treacherous  captains  had  found 
their  opportunity  and  sowed  distrust  broadcast  by 
hinting  that  a  Portuguese  commander  could  not 


196  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

better  serve  his  king  than  by  leading  a  Spanish  ar- 
mada to  destruction.  They  had  evidently  secured 
The  mntiry  *^^^^  ™^^  ^^^  prepared  their  blow  be- 
SiiiiiS?  iprfl  '^^  ^®  ^^*  ^5*™®  *^  anchor.  The  ring- 
*'  "^^*  leaders  of  the  mutiny  were  the  captains 

Quesada,  of  the  Concepcion,  and  Mendoza,  of  the 
Victoria,  with  Juan  de  Cartagena,  the  deposed 
captain  of  the  San  Antonio,  which  was  now  com- 
manded by  Magellan's  cousin,  Alvaro  de  Mesquita. 
On  the  night  of  Easter  Sunday,  Cartagena  and 
Quesada,  with  thirty  men,  boarded  the  San  An- 
tonio, seized  Mesquita  and  put  him  in  irons ;  in  the 
brief  affray  the  mate  of  the  San  Antonio  was  mor- 
tally wounded.  One  of  the  mutineers,  Sebastian 
Eleano,  was  put  in  command  of  the  ship,  such  of 
the  surprised  and  bewildered  crew  as  were  likely  to 
be  loyal  were  disarmed,  and  food  and  wine  were 
handed  about  in  token  of  the  more  generous  policy 
now  to  be  adopted.  All  was  done  so  quickly  and 
quietly  that  no  suspicion  of  it  reached  the  captain- 
general  or  anybody  on  board  the  Trinidad. 

On  Monday  morning  the  traitor  captains  felt 
themselves  masters  of  the  situation.  Three  of  the 
five  ships  were  in  their  hands,  and  if  they  chose  to 
go  back  to  Spain,  who  could  stop  them?  If  they 
should  decide  to  capture  the  flagship  and  murder 
their  commander,  they  had  a  fair  chance  of  suc- 
cess, for  the  faithful  Serrano  in  his  little  ship 
Santiago  was  no  match  for  any  one  of  the  three. 
Defiance  seemed  quite  safe,  and  in  the 
^^^^  forenoon,  when  a  boat  from  the  flagship 
happened  to  approach  the  San  Antonio 
she  was  insolently  told  to  keep  away,  since  Ma« 


MUNDU8  NOVUS.  197 

gellan  no  longer  had  command   over  that   ship. 
When  this  challenge  was  carried  to  Magellan  he 
sent  the  boat  from  ship  to  ship  as  a  test,  and  soon 
learned  that  only  the   Santiago  remained   loyal. 
Presently  Quesada  sent  a  message  to  the  Trinidad 
requesting  a   conference  between  the  chief  com- 
mander and  the  revolted  captains.    Very  well,  said 
Magellan,  only  the  conference  must  of  course  be 
held  on  board  the  Trinidad;   but  for  Quesada  and 
his  accomplices  thus  to  venture  in  the  lion's  jaws 
was  out  of  the  question,  and  they  impudently  in- 
sisted  that  the  captain  -  general  should  come  on 
board  the  San  Antonio. 

Little  did  they  realize  with  what  a  man  they 
were  dealing.  Magellan  knew  how  to  jnake  them 
come  to  him.  He  had  reason  to  be-  HisboM 
lieve  that  the  crew  of  the  Victoria  was  ■^^®' 
less  disloyal  than  the  others  and  selected  that  ship 
for  the  scene  of  his  first  coup  de  main.  While  he 
kept  a  boat  in  readiness,  with  a  score  of  trusty  men 
armed  to  the  teeth  and  led  by  his  wife's  brother, 
Barbosa,  he  sent  another  boat  ahead  to  the  Victo- 
ria, with  his  alguazil,  or  constable,  Espinosa,  and 
five  other  men.  Luis  de  Mendoza,  captain  of  the 
Victoria,  suffered  this  small  party  to  come  on 
board.  Espinosa  then  served  on  Mendoza  a  for- 
mal summons  to  come  to  the  flagship,  and  upon  his 
refusal  quick  as  lightning  sprang  upon  him  and 
plunged  a  dagger  into  his  throat.  As  the  corpse 
of  the  rebellious  captain  dropped  upon  the  deck, 
Barbosa's  party  rushed  over  the  ship's  side  with 
drawn  cutlasses,  the  dazed  crew  at  once  surren- 
dered, and  Barbosa  took  command. 


198  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A, 

The  tables  were  now  turned,  and  with  three 
ships  in  loyal  hands  Magellan  blockaded  the  other 
two  in  the  harbour.  At  night  he  opened  fire  upon 
the  San  Antonio,  and  strong  parties  from  the 
TbematiiiT  Trinidad  and  the  Victoria  boarding  her 
nippreMed.      ^^  |^^|j   sidcs   at  oucc,  Qucsada  and 

his  accomplices  were  captured.  The  Concepcion 
thereupon,  overawed  and  crestfallen,  lost  no  time 
in  surrendering;  and  so  the  formidable  mutiny  wbs 
completely  quelled  in  less  than  four-and-twenty 
hours.  Quesada  was  beheaded,  Cartagena  and  a 
guilty  priest,  Pero  Sanchez,  were  kept  in  irons 
until  the  fleet  sailed,  when  they  were  set  ashore  and 
left  to  their  fate ;  all  the  rest  were  pardoned,  and 
open  defiance  of  the  captain-general  was  no  more 
dreamed  of.  In  the  course  of  the  winter  the  Sant- 
iago was  wrecked  while  on  a  reconnoissance,  but 
her  men  were  rescued  after  dreadful  sufferings, 
and  Serrano  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Con- 
cepcion. 

At  length  on  the  24th  of  August,  with  the  ear- 
liest symptoms  of  spring  weather,  the  ships,  which 
i>i«eoT(^T7  of  1^  ^^i^  carefully  overhauled  and  re- 
theatrait.  paired,  proceeded  on  their  way.^  Vio- 
lent storms  harassed  them,  and  it  was  not  until  the 

'  While  they  were  staying^  at  Port  St  Julian  the  ezploren 
made  the  acquaintance  of  many  Patagonians,  —  giants,  as  they 
called  them.  **  Their  height  appears  greater  than  it  reaUy  is, 
from  their  laige  guanaco  mantles,  their  long  flowing  hair,  and 
general  f^re :  on  an  average  their  height  is  ahont  six  feet,  with 
some  men  taller  and  only  a  few  shorter ;  and  the  women  are  also 
tall/*  Darwin,  Voyage  of  the  Beagie,  London,  1870,  p.  232. 
These  Patagoaians  invoked  a  deity  of  theirs  (or  as  Pigaf etta  pnts 
it,  *'  the  chief  of  their  devils  '*)  hy  the  name  of  Setehos.  Shake- 
speare makes  Caliban  use  this  name  twice  in  the  Tewtpat,  act  L 


MUNDU3  NOV  US,  199 

21st  of  October  (St.  Ursula's  day)  that  they 
Teaehed  the  headland  still  known  as  Cape  Virgins. 
Passing  beyond  Dungeness  they  entered  a  large 
open  bay,  which  some  hailed  as  the  long-sought 
sti:ait,  while  others  averred  that  no  passage  would 
be  found  there.  It  was,  says  Pigafetta,  in  Eden's 
vereion,  "the  straight  now  cauled  the  straight  of 
Magellanus,  beinge  in  sum  place.  C.  x.  leaques  in 
length :  and  in  breadth  smnwhere  very  large  and 
in  other  places  lyttle  mora  than  halfe  a  leaque  in 
bredth.  On  both  the  sydes  of  this  strayght  are 
great  and  hygh  mountaynes  couered  with  snowe, 
beyonde  the  whiche  is  the  enteraunce  into  the  sea 
of  Sur.  .  .  .  Here  one  of  the  shyppes  stole  away 
priuilie  and  returned  into  Spayne."  More  than 
five  weeks  were  consumed  in  passing  through  the 
strait,  and  among  its  kbyrinthine  twists  and  half- 
hidden  bays  there  was  ample  opportunity  for  deser- 
tion. As  advanced  reconnoissances  kept  reporting 
the  water  as  deep  and  salt,  the  conviction  grew 
that  the  strait  was  found,  and  then  the  question 
once  more  arose  whether  it  would  not  be  best  to  go 
back  to  Spain,  satisfied  with  this  dis-  Desertion  of 
coveiy,  since  with  all  these  wretched  de-  SS&SIn? 
lays  the  provisions  were  again  running  *^<>- 
short.  Magellan's  answer,  uttered  in  measured 
and  quiet  tones,  was  simply  that  he  would  go  on 
and  do  his  work  ^^if  he  had  to  eat  the  leather  off 
the  ship's  yards."     Upon  the  San  Antonio  there 

scene  2,  and  act  t.  scene  1 ;  in  all  probability  be  bad  been  read- 
ing Eden^s  translation  of  Pigafetta,  published  in  London  in  1555. 
Robert  Browning  has  elaborately  developed  Shakespeare's  Biigw 
gMtions  in  his  Calihan  on  Setebos, 


200  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA, 

had  always  been  a  large  proportion  of  the  malcon- 
tents, and  the  chief  pilot,  Estevan  Gomez,  having 
been  detailed  for  duty  on  that  ship,  lent  himself  to 
their  purposes.  The  captain  Mesquita  was  again 
seized  and  put  in  irons,  a  new  captain  was  chosen 
by  the  mutineers,  and  Gomez  piloted  the  ship  back 
to  Spain,  where  they  arrived  after  a  voyage  of  six 
months,  and  screened  themselves  for  a  while  by 
lying  about  Magellan. 

As  for  that  commander,  in  Richard  Eden's 
words,  ^^when  the  capitayne  Magalianes  was  past 
the  strayght  and  sawe  the  way  open  to  the  other 
mayne  sea,  he  was  so  gladde  therof  that  for  ioy  the 
Entering  the  ^^rcs  fell  f rom  his  eyes,  and  named  the 
Pecific  poynt  of  the  lande  from  whense  he  fyrst 

sawe  that  sea  Capo  Desiderato,  Supposing  that 
the  shyp  which  stole  away  had  byn  loste,  they 
erected  a  crosse  uppon  the  top  of  a  hyghe  hyll  to 
direct  their  course  in  the  straight  yf  it  were  theyr 
chaunce  to  coome  that  way."  The  broad  expanse 
of  waters  before  him  seemed  so  pleasant  to  Magel- 
lan, after  the  heavy  storms  through  which  he  had 
passed,  that  he  called  it  by  the  name  it  still  bears, 
Pacific.  But  the  worst  hardships  were  still  before 
him.  Once  more  a  Sea  of  Darkness  must  be 
crossed  by  brave  hearts  sickening  with  hope  de- 
ferred. If  the  mid- Atlantic  waters  had  been 
strange  to  Colimibus  and  his  men,  here  before  Ma- 
gellan's people  all  was  thrice  unknown. 

**  They  were  the  first  that  erer  burst 
Into  that  silent  sea ; '' 

and  as  they  sailed  month  after  month  over  the 
waste  of  waters,  the  huge  size  of  our  planet  began 


202  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

to  make  itself  felt.  Until  after  the  middle  of  De- 
cember they  kept  a  northward  course,  near  the 
eoa^t  of  ihe'conLnt,  running  a^  from  the  ant- 
arctic  cold..  Then  northwesterly  and  westerly 
courses  were  taken,  and  on  the  24th  of  January, 
1521,  a  small  wooded  islet  was  found  in  water 
where  the  longest  plummet-lines  failed  to  reach 
bottom.  Already  the  voyage  since  issuing  from 
the  strait  was  nearly  twice  as  long  as  that  of  Co- 
lumbus in  1492  from  the  Canaries  to  Guanahani. 
From  the  useless  island,  which  they  called  San 
Pablo,  a  further  run  of  eleven  days  brought  them 
to  another  uninhabited  rock,  which  they  called 
Tiburones,  from  the  quantity  of  sharks  observed. 
y^j^jjjj,,^^  in  the  neighbourhood.  There  was 
■~'^-  neither  food  nor  water  to  be  had  there, 

and  a  voyage  of  unknown  duration,  in  reality  not 
less  than  5,000  English  miles,  was  yet  to  be  accom- 
plished before  a  trace  of  land  was  again  to  greet 
their  yearning  gaze.  Their  sufferings  may  best  be 
told  in  the  quaint  and  touching  words  in  which 
Shakespeare  read  them:  —  "And  hauynge  in  this 
iyme  consiuned  all  theyr  bysket  and  other  vyttayles, 
they  fell  into  such  necessitie  that  they  were  in- 
forced  to  eate  the  pouder  that  remayned  therof  be- 
inge  now  full  of  woormes.  .  .  .  Theyre  freshe 
water  was  also  putrifyed  and  become  yelow.  They 
dyd  eate  skynnes  and  pieces  of  lether  which  were 
i^)uldeil  abowt  corteyne  great  ropes  of  the  shyps. 
[Thus  did  the  eaptain-general^s  words  come  true.] 
But  these  «kynnes  being  made  verve  harde  by  rea- 
son of  the  80onne«  rayne,  and  wynde,  they  hunge 
theiu  by  a  oorde  in  the  sea  for  the  space  of  f oure 


MUNDU8  N0VU3.  208 

or  fiue  dayse  to  moUifie  them,  and  sodde  them,  and 
eate  them.  By  reason  of  this  famen  and  vnclene 
feedynge,  summe  of  theyr  gummes  grewe  so  ouer 
theyr  teethe  [a  symptom  of  scurvy],  that  they  dyed 
miserably  for  himger.  And  by  this  occasion  dyed. 
xix.  men,  and  .  .  besyde  these  that  dyed,  xxv. 
or.  XXX.  were  so  sicke  that  they  were  not  able  to 
doo  any  seruice  with  theyr  handes  or  arms  for  f ee- 
blenesse :  So  that  was  in  maner  none  without  sum 
disease.  In  three  monethes  and.  xx.  dayes,  they 
sayled  foure  thousande  leaques  in  one  goulfe  by 
the  sayde  sea  cauled  Pacificum  (that  is)  peaceable, 
whiche  may  well  bee  so  cauled  forasmuch  as  in  all 
this  tyme  hauyng  no  syght  of  any  lande,  they  had 
no  misfortune  of  wynde  or  any  other  tempest.  .  .  . 
So  that  in  fine,  if  god  of  his  mercy  had  not  gyuen 
them  good  wether,  it  was  necessary  that  in  this  soo 
greate  a  sea  they  shuld  all  haue  dyed  for  himger. 
Whiche  neuertheless  they  escaped  soo  hardely,  that 
it  may  bee  doubted  whether  euer  the  like  viage 
may  be  attempted  with  so  goode  successe."  ^ 

One  would  gladly  know  —  albeit  Pigafetta's 
journal  and  the  still  more  laconic  pilot's  log-book 
leave  us  in  the  dark  on  this  point  —  how  the  igno- 
rant and  suffering  crews  interpreted  this  everlast- 
ing: stretch  of  sea,  vaster,  said  Maximil- 

•  rr«  -I  LL   ^  i  i  Vaatneas  b©- 

lan    Iransylvanus,      than   the    human  y ond  concep- 
mind  could  conceive."    To  them  it  may 
well  have  seemed  that  the  theory  of  a  round  and 
limited  earth  was  wrong  after  all,  and  that  their 
infatuated  commander  was  leading  them  out  into 
the  fathomless  abysses  of  space,  with  no  welcom- 

^  The  Firtt  Three  Englisk  Books  on  America,  p.  25a 


204  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

ing  shore  beyond.  But  that  heart  of  triple 
bronze,^  we  may  be  sure,  did  not  flinch.  The  sit- 
uation had  got  beyond  the  point  where  mutiny 
could  be  suggested  as  a  remedy.  The  very  des- 
perateness  of  it  was  aU  in  Magellan's  favour;  for 
so  far  away  had  they  come  from  the  known  world 
that  retreat  meant  certain  death.  The  only 
chance  of  escape  lay  in  pressing  forward.  At 
last,  on  the  6th  of  March,  they  came  upon  islands 
The  Ladrooe  inhabited  by  savages  ignorant  of  the  bow 
"*'*^  and  arrow,  but  expert  in  handling  their 

peculiar  light  boats.  Here  the  dreadful  suffer- 
ings were  ended,  for  they  found  plenty  of  fruit 
and  fresh  vegetables,  besides  meat.  The  people 
were  such  eager  and  pertinacious  thieves  that  their 
islands  received  the  name  by  which  they  are  still 
known,  the  Islas  de  Ladrones,  or  isles  of  robbers. 
On  the  16th  of  March  the  three  ships  arrived 
at  the  islands  which  some  years  afterward  were 
named  Philippines,  after  Philip  II.  of  Spain. 
Though  these  were  islands  unvisited  by  £uro- 
The  Philip-  peaus,  yct  Asiatic  traders  from  Siam 
^^"^  and  Sumatra,  as  well  as  from  China, 

were  to  be  met  there,  and  it  was  thus  not  long 
before  Magellan  became  aware  of  the  greatness  of 
his  triiunph.  He  had  passed  the  meridian  of  the 
Moluccas,  and  knew  that  these  islands  lay  to  the 
southward  within  an  easy  sail.  He  had  accom- 
plished the  circumnavigation  of  the  earth  through 
its  unknown  portion,  and  the  remainder  of  his 

^  nU  robur  et  »8  triplex 
Circa  pectus  enit,  etc. 
H4MSt,  CWm.,  L  3;  el.  JSachylns,  ProwuiL,  242. 


MUNDUS  NOV  US.  205 

route  lay  through  seas  akeady  traversed.  An 
erroneous  calculation  of  longitudes  confirmed  him 
in  the  belief  that  the  Moluccas,  as  well  as  the 
Philippines,  properly  belonged  to  Spain.  Mean- 
while in  these  Philippines  of  themselves  he  had 
discovered  a  region  of  no  small  commercial  im- 
portance. But  his  brief  tarry  in  these  interest- 
ing islands  had  fatal  results,  and  in  the  very  hour 
of  victory  the  conqueror  perished,  slain  in  a  fight 
with  the  natives,  the  reason  of  which  we  can  un- 
derstand only  by  considering  the  close  complica- 
tion of  commercial  and  political  interests  with  re- 
ligious notions  so  common  in  that  age. 

As  the  typical  Spaniard  or  Portuguese  was  then 
a  persecutor  of  heresy  at  home,  so  he  Themediavai 
was  always  more  or  less  of  a  missionary  "p*"*^* 
abroad,  and  the  missionary  spirit  was  in  his  case 
intimately  allied  with  the  crusading  spirit.  If  the 
heathen  resisted  the  gospel,  it  was  quite  right  to 
slay  and  despoil  them.  Magellan's  nature  was 
devoutly  religious,  and  exhibited  itself  in  the 
points  of  strength  and  weakness  most  characterise 
tic  of  his  age.  After  he  had  made  a  treaty  of 
alliance  with  the  king  of  the  island  of  Sebu,  in 
which,  among  other  things,  the  exclusive  privilege 
of  trading  there  was  reserved  to  the  Spaniards, 
Magellan  made  the  unexpected  discovery  that  the 
king  and  his  people  were  ready  and  even  eager  to 
embrace  Christianity!     They  had  con-  ^        ,      . 

•^  *^  ConveTsion  of 

ceived  an  exalted  idea  of  the  powers  the  people  of 
and    accomplishments    of    these    white 
stiungers,  and  apparently  wished  to  imitate  them 
in  all  things.     So  in  less  than  a  week's  time  a 


206  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

huge  bonfire  had  been  made  of  the  idols,  a  cross 
was  set  up  in  the  market,  and  all  the  people  on 
the  island  were  baptized  I  Now  the  king  of  Sebu 
claimed  aUegiance  from  chieftains  on  neighbour- 
ing islands  who  were  slow  to  render  it ;  and  hav- 
ing  adopted  the  white  man's  "  medicine  »  he  natu- 
rally  wished  to  test  its  efficacy.  What  was 
Christianity  good  for  if  not  to  help  you  to  hmnble 
your  vassals  ?  So  the  Christian  king  of  Sebu  de- 
manded homage  from  the  pagan  king  of  Matan, 
and  when  the  latter  potentate  scornfully  refused, 
there  was  a  clear  case  for  a  crusade !  The  stead- 
fast commander,  the  ally  and  protector  of  his  new 
convert,  the  peerless  navigator,  the  knight  without 
fear  and  without  reproach,  now  turned  crusader 
as  quickly  as  he  had  turned  missionary.  Indeed 
there  was  no  turning.  These  various  aspects  of 
life's  work  were  all  one  to  him ;  he  would  have 
summed  up  the  whole  thing  as  "  serving  God  and 
doing  his  duty."  So  Magellan  crossed  over  to 
the  island  of  Matan,  on  the  27th  of  April,  1521, 
and  was  encountered  by  the  natives  in  overwhelm- 
ing force.  After  a  desperate  fight  the  Spaniards 
were  obliged  to  retreat  to  their  boats,  and  their 
commander,  who  years  before  had  been  the  last 
man  to  leave  a  sinking  ship,  now  lingered  on  the 
Death  of  Ma-  brink  of  danger,  screening  his  men,  till 
geiian.  jjjg  helmet  was   knocked  oflF  and   his 

right  arm  disabled  by  a  spear  thrust.  A  sud- 
den blow  brought  him  to  the  ground,  and  then, 
says  the  Chevalier  Pigafetta,  "  the  Indians  threw 
themselves  upon  him  with  iron-pointed  bamboo 
si)ears  and  scimitars,  and  every  weapon  they  had, 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  207 

and  ran  him  through  —  our  mirror,  our  light,  our 
comforter,  our  true  guide  —  imtil  they  killed  him."  ^ 
In  these  scenes,  as  so  often  in  life,  the  grotesque 
and  the  tragic  were  strangely  mixed.  The  defeat 
of  the  white  men  convinced  the  king  of  Sebu  that 
he  had  overestimated  the  blessings  of  Christianity, 
and  so,  by  way  of  atonement  for  the  slight  he  had 
cast  upon  the  gods  of  his  fathers,  he  invited  some 
thirty  of  the  leading  Spaniards  to  a  ^....^ 
banquet,  and  massacred  them.  Among  ■'^•***^ 
the  men  thus  cruelly  slain  were  the  faithful  cap- 
tains, Barbosa  and  Serrano.  As  the  ships  sailed 
hastUy  away  the  natives  were  seen  chopping  down 
the  cross  and  conducting  ceremonies  in  expiation  of 
their  brief  apostasy.  The  blow  was  a  sad  one.  Of 
the  280  men  who  had  sailed  out  from  the  Guadal- 
quivir only  115  remained.  At  the  same  time 
the  Concepcion,  being  adjudged  no  longer  sea- 
worthy, was  dismantled  and  burned  to  the  water's 
edge.  The  constable  Espinosa  was  elected  captain 
of  the  Victoria,  and  the  pilot  Carvalho  was  made 
eaptain^neral,  but  proving  incompe-  ^^^^^ 
tent,  WBS  presently  superseded  by  that  ^°^"««^ 
Sebastian  Elcano  who  had  been  one  of  the  muti- 
neers at  Port  St.  Julian.  When  the  Trinidad  and 
Victoria,  after  visiting  Borneo,  reached  the  Moluc- 
cas they  found  that  Francisco  Serrano  had  been 
murdered  by  order  of  the  king  of  Tidor  at  about 
the  same  time  that  his  friend  Magellan  had  fallen 
at  Matan.  The  Spaniards  spent  some  time  in 
these  islands,  trading.  When  they  were  ready  to 
start,   on  the   18th  of  December,  the   Trinidad 

^  Gnillemard's  Magellan^  p.  252. 


208  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

sprang  a  leak.  It  was  thereupon  decided  that  the 
Victoria  should  make  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
without  delay,  in  order  not  to  lose  the  favourable 
east  monsoon.  The  Trinidad  was  to  be  thoroughly 
repaired,  and  then  take  advantage  of  the  reversal 
of  monsoon  to  sail  for  Panama.^  Apparently  it 
was  thought  that  the  easterly  breeze  which  had 
wafted  them  so  steadily  across  the  Pacific  was  a 
monsoon  and  would  change  like  the  Indian  winds, 
—  a  most  disastrous  error.  Of  the  101  men  still 
surviving,  54  were  assigned  to  the  Trinidad  and 
47  to  the  Victoria.  The  former  ship  was  com- 
manded by  Espinosa,  the  latter  by  Elcano. 

When  the  Trinidad  set  sail,  April  6,  1522,  she 
Fftto  of  tiM  ^^  ^^^  westerly  monsoon  in  her  favour, 
'^^*****^'  but  as  she  worked  up  into  the  northern 
Pacific  she  encountered  the  northeast  trade-wind, 
and  in  trj^ng  to  escape  it  groped  her  way  up  to 
the  fortieth  parallel  and  beyond.  By  that  time, 
overcome  with  famine  and  scurvy,  she  faced  about 
and  ran  back  to  the  Moluccas.  'When  she  arrived, 
it  was  i^dthout  her  mainmast.  Of  her  54  men  all 
but  19  had  found  a  wateiy  grave ;  and  now  the 
survivors  were  seized  by  a  party  of  Portuguese, 
and  a  new  chapter  of  miseiy  was  begun.  Only 
the  captain  Espinosa  and  three  of  the  crew  lived 
to  see  Spain  again. 

Meanwhile  on  the  16th  of  Mav  the  little  Vic- 
toria,  with  stari-ation  and  scurvy  already  thinning 

^  The  eirramstauicM  of  th«  f  oondutp  of  PtaDama  wiU  he  mea- 
tioned  below  in  chapter  x.  In  order  to  complete  in  a  single  pio- 
tnre  the  accoant  of  Mundns  Noms.  I  teU  the  storr  of  Magellan 
in  the  present  ehapter,  aomevhat  in  adrance  of  its  chrooologieal 

piMtkHL 


MUNDUS  NOVUS.  209 

the  ranks,  with  foretopmast  gone  by  the  board 
and  foreyard  badly  sprung,  cleared  the  Return  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  thence  was  ^**'*<*'**- 
borne  on  the  strong  and  friendly  current  up  to  the 
equator,  which  she  crossed  on  the  8th  of  June. 
Only  fifty  years  since  Santarem  and  Escobar,  first 
of  Europeans,  had  crept  down  that  coast  and 
crossed  it!  Into  that  glorious  half-century  what 
a  world  of  suffering  and  achievement  had  been 
crowded !  Dire  necessity  compelled  the  Victoria  to 
stop  at  the  Cape  Yerde  islands.  Her  people  sought 
safety  in  deceiving  the  Portuguese  with  the  story 
that  they  were  returning  from  a  voyage  in  Atlan- 
tic waters  only,  and  thus  they  succeeded  in  buying 
food.  But  while  this  was  going  on,  as  a  boat-load 
of  thirteen  men  had  been  sent  ashore  for  rice,  some 
silly  tongue,  loosened  by  wine  in  the  head  of  a 
sailor  who  had  cloves  to  sell,  babbled  the  perilous 
secret  of  Magellan  and  the  Moluccas.  The  thir- 
teen were  at  once  arrested  and  a  boat  called  upon 
the  Victoria,  with  direful  threats,  to  surrender; 
but  she  quickly  stretched  every  inch  of  her  can- 
vas and  got  away.  This  was  on  the  13th  of  July, 
and  eight  weeks  of  ocean  remained.  At  last,  on 
the  6th  of   September  ^  —  the   thirtieth  anniver- 

^  They  were  surprised  to  hear  their  friends  at  home  calling  it 
the  7th :  —  "  And  amonge  other  notable  thynges  .  .  .  wrytten 
as  toach3nDge  that  yyage,  this  is  one,  that  the  Spanyardes  hauinge 
•ayled  abowt  three  yeares  and  one  moneth,  and  the  most  of  them 
notynge  the  dayes,  day  by  day  (as  is  the  maner  of  all  them  that 
layle  by  the  ocean),  they  fonnde  when  they  were  returned  to 
Spayne  that  they  had  loste  one  daye.  So  that  at  theyr  arryuall 
at  the  porte  of  Siuile,  beinge  the  senenth  daye  of  September,  was 
by  theyr  accorapt  but  the  sixth  day.  And  where  as  Don  Peter 
Martyr  declared  the  strange  effecte  of  this  thynge  to  a  oerteyne 


210  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

sary  of  the  day  when  Columbus  weighed  anchor 
for  Cipango  —  the  Victoria  sailed  into  the  Gnia- 
dalquivir,  with  eighteen  gaunt  and  haggard  sur- 
vivors  to  tell  the  proud  story  of  the  first  circum- 
navigation of  the  earth.^ 

The  voyage  thus  ended  was  doubtless  the  great- 
est feat  of  navigation  that  has  ever  been  per- 
formed, and  nothing  can  be  imagined  that  would 
surpass  it  except  a  journey  to  some  other  planet. 
An  onpaiw  It  has  uot  the  unique  historic  position 
▼oyage.  ^£  ^j^^  £^^  voyagc  of  Columbus,  which 

brought  together  two  streams  of  human  life  that 
had  been  disjoined  since  the  Glacial  Period.  But 
as  an  achievement  in  ocean  navigation  that  voyage 
of  Columbus  sinks  into  insignificance  by  the  side 
of  it,  and  when  the  earth  was  a  second  time  en- 
compassed by  the  greatest  English  sailor  of  his 
age,  the  advance  in  knowledge,  as  well  as  the  dif- 
ferent route  chosen,  had  much  reduced  the  dif- 
ficulty of  the  performance.  When  we  consider 
the  frailness  of  the  ships,  the  immeasurable  extent 
of  the  imknown,  the  mutinies  that  were  prevented 
or  quelled,  and  the  hardships  that  were  endured, 
we  can  have  no  hesitation  in  speaking  of  Magellan 
as  the  prince  of  navigators.  Nor  can  we  ever  fail 
to  admire  the  simplicity  and  purity  of  that  devoted 

exoellente  man,  irho,  for  his  singular  lemynfj^,  was  g^reately  ad- 
nanced  to  honoore  in  his  common  welthe  and  made  Themperoar*s 
ambassadooref  this  'worthy  gentelman,  who  was  also  a  greate 
Philosopher  and  Astronomer,  answered  that  it  coolde  not  other- 
WTse  chaunce  unto  them,  hanynge  savled  three  yeares  contin- 
vally,  euer  folowynge  the  soonne  towarde  the  West"  The  Fini 
Three  Enylith  Books  on  America,  p.  24ft. 
^  Their  names  are  giyen  below  in  Appendix  D. 


^ruyDUs  novus.  211 

life  in  which  there  is  nothing  that  seeks  to  be 
hidden  or  explained  away. 

It  would  have  been  fitting  that  the  proudest 
crest  ever  granted  by  a  sovereign  —  a 
terrestrial  globe  belted  with  the  legend 
Primus  circumdedisti  me  (Thou  first  encompassed 
me)  —  should  have  been  bestowed  upon  the  son 
and  representative  of  the  hero  ;  but  when  the  Vic- 
toria returned  there  was  none  to  receive  such 
recognition.  In  September,  1521,  Magellan*s  son, 
the  little  Eodrigo,  died,  and  by  March,  1522,  the 
gentle  mother  Beatriz  had  heard,  by  way  of  the 
Portuguese  Indies,  of  the  fate  of  her  husband  and 
her  brother.^  In  that  same  month  —  "  grievously 
sorrowing,"  as  we  are  told  —  she  died.  The  coat- 
of-arms  with  the  crest  just  mentioned,  along  with 
a  pension  of  500  ducats,  was  granted  to  Elcano,  a 
weak  man  who  had  ill  deserved  such  honour.  Es- 
pinosa  was  also,  with  more  justice,  pensioned  and 
ennobled. 

One  might  at  first  suppose  that  the  revelation 
of  such  an  immensity  of  water  west  of  Mundus 
Novus  would  soon  have  resulted  in  the  evolution 
of  the  conception  of  a  distinct  western  ^ow  dowiy 
hemisphere.  This  effect  was,  however,  ^JjIJe^'  '^ 
very  slowly  wrought  in  men's  minds.  ^^^^^ 
The  fact  was  too  great  and  too  strange  to  be  easily 
taken  in  and  assimilated  with  the  mass  of  mingled 
fact  and  theory  already  existing.  It  was  not  until 
1577-80  that  the  Pacific  was  crossed,  for  the  second 
time,  by  Sir  Francis  Drake.  How  imperfectly  its 
dimensions  were  comprehended  may  be  seen  from 

^  Gnillemard,  p.  90. 


212  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

the  globe  of  Orontius  Finseus,  1531,  of  whieli  a 
sketch  has  already  been  given.  In  his  Opttacu- 
lum  Geographicum^  published  in  1533,  Schoner 
placed  Newfoundland  and  Florida  in  Asia  and 
identified  the  city  of  Mexico  with  Marco  Polo's 
Quinsay.  To  bring  out  the  correct  outline  and 
huge  continental  mass  of  North  America,  and  to 
indicate  with  entire  precision  its  relations  to 
The  work  of  ^sia,  was  the  Work  of  Two  Centuries, 
twocenturiM.  ^  brief  skctch  of  which  will  be  given 
hereafter.  But  before  we  can  properly  come  to 
that  final  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Discoveiy 
of  America,  there  are  other  points  which  demand 
attention.  Something  must  be  said  concerning 
the  earliest  contact  between  the  civilization  of 
Europe  just  emerging  from  the  Middle  Ages  and 
the  semi-civilizations  of  the  archaic  world  of  Amer- 
ica, similar  in  many  respects  to  those  that  had 
Whmtnezt  fiourishcd  in  the  eastern  hemisphere 
concern,  ub.  feef  orc  the  timcs  of  Abraham  and  Aga- 
memnon. No  scenes  in  history  are  more  remark- 
able than  those  which  attended  this  earliest  con- 
tact. It  would  be  hard  to  point  to  a  year  more 
fraught  with  thrilling  interest  than  1519,  when  in 
the  month  of  November,  at  the  very  time  that 
Magell^  was  breasting  the  storms  of  the  southern 
Atlantic,  on  the  way  to  his  long-sought  strait, 
Hernando  Cortes  was  anxiously  inspecting  the 
terraced  roofs  and  picturesque  drawbridges  of  the 
strange  city  to  which  Montezuma  had  just  ad- 
mitted him.  We  have  now  to  deal  briefly  with 
that  episode  in  the  Discovery  of  America  known 
as  the  Conquest  of  Mexico. 


CHAPTER  Vm. 

THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO. 

If  we  were  engaged  upon  a  philosophical  his- 
tory of  the  human  mind,  the  career  of  maritime 
discovery  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries 
would  have  great  interest  for  us,  with  Bff^taofin- 
regard  to  its  influence  upon  men's  hab-  JSJJ^f^ST' 
its  of  thought.  In  the  long  run,  the  ef-  §^^^^,^"0 
feet  of  increased  knowledge  of  the  earth  "p*^** 
is  to  dispel  mythological  mystery  and  the  kind 
of  romance  that  goes  with  it,  and  to  strengthen 
men's  belief  in  the  constancy  of  nature.  As  long 
as  nothing  was  known  of  the  lands  beyond  the 
equator,  it  was  easy  enough  to  people  them  with 
gnomes  and  grifi&ns.  There  was  no  intrinsic  im- 
probability in  the  existence  of  a  ^^  land  east  of  the 
sun  and  west  of  the  moon,"  or  any  of  the  other 
regions  subject  to  the  Queen  of  the  Fairies,  —  any 
more  than  in  the  existence  of  Cipango  or  Cathay, 
or  any  other  real  country  which  was  indefinitely 
remote  and  had  but  rarely  been  visited.  As  long 
as  men's  fancy  had  free  sweep,  beyond  the  narrow 
limits  of  "  the  world  as  known  to  the  ancients," 
there  was  plenty  of  room  for  fairyland.  But  in 
these  prosaic  days  our  knowledge  of  the  earth's 
surface  has  become  so  nearly  complete  as  to  crowd 
out  all  thought  of  enchanted  ground.     Beyond 


214  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

the  dark  and  perilous  sea  we  no  longer  look  for 
El  Dorado,  since  maps  and  gazetteers  have  taught 
us  to  expect  nothing  better  than  the  beautiful  but 
cruel,  the  romantic  but  humdrum,  world  with 
which  daily  experience  has  already  made  us  so 
well  acquainted.  In  this  respect  the  present  age, 
compared  with  the  sixteenth  century,  is  like  ma- 
ture manhood  compared  with  youth.  The  bright 
visions  have  fled,  but  the  sober  realities  of  life 
remain.  The  most  ardent  adventurer  of  our  time 
has  probably  never  indulged  in  such  wild  fancies 
as  must  have  flitted  through  the  mind  of  young 
Louis  de  Hennepin  when  he  used  to  hide  behind 
tavern  doors  while  the  sailors  were  telling  of  their 
voyages.  "The  tobacco  smoke,"  he  says,  "  used  to 
make  me  very  sick;  but,  notwithstanding,  I  lis- 
tened attentively  to  all  that  was  said  about  their 
adventures  at  sea  and  their  travels  in  distant 
countries.  I  could  have  passed  whole  days  and 
nights  in  this  way  without  eating."  ^ 

The  first  effect  of  the  voyages  of  Columbus  and 
his  successors  was  to  arouse  this  spirit  of  roman- 
tic curiosity  to  fever  heat.  Before  the  newly-found 
lands  had  been  explored,  there  was  no  telling  what 
they  might  not  contain.  Upon  oue  point,  however, 
most  of  the  early  adventurers  were  thoroughly 
KoiB^iie  agreed.  The  newly-found  coasts  must 
£!l!^  u^  ^  i^^^  Cipango  and  Cathay«  or  at  any 
■^^^  rate  somewhere  within  the  territories  of 

the  "Grand  Khan;"  and  the  reports  of  Maioo 
Polo,  doubtless  bravely   embellished  in    passing 

1  HeiiMiHii,  Vofage  CMntux  (1704),  12,  cHed  im  FkckmaBfl 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  215 

from  moutli  to  mouth,  whetted  the  greed  for  gold 
and  inflamed  the  crusading  zeal  of  the  sturdy  men 
who  had  just  driven  the  Moor  from  Granada  and 
were  impatiently  longing  for  "fresh  woods  and 
pastures  new."  It  was  taken  for  granted  that  the 
countries  beyond  the  Sea  of  Darkness  abounded  in 
rich  treasure  which  might  be  won  without  labour 
more  prosaic  than  fighting ;  for  as  heathen  treasure 
it  was  of  course  the  legitimate  prey  of  these  sol- 
diers of  the  Cross.  Their  minds  were  in  a  state 
like  that  of  the  heroes  of  the  Arabian  Nights  who, 
if  they  only  wander  far  enough  through  the  dark 
forest  or  across  the  burning  desert,  are  sure  at 
length  to  come  upon  some  enchanted  palace  whereof 
they  may  fairly  hope,  with  the  aid  of  some  gracious 
Jinni,  to  become  masters.  But  with  all  their  un- 
checked freedom  of  fancy,  it  is  not  likely  that 
the  Spaniards  who  first  set  foot  upon  the  soil  of 
Mexico  had  ever  imagined  anything  stranger  than 
the  sights  they  saw  there ;  nor  did  ever  a  slave  of 
the  lamp  prepare  for  man  a  triumph  so  astounding 
as  that  of  which  the  elements  were  in  readiness 
awaiting  the  masterful  touch  of  Hernando  Cortes 
in  the  year  1519. 

I  have  already  described,  in  its  most  general 
outlines,  the  structure  of  society  in  ancient  Mex- 
ico.^ A  glance  at  its  history  is  now  necessary, 
if  we  would  understand  the  circumstances  of  its 
sudden  overthrow.  A  very  brief  sketch  is  all  that 
is  here  practicable,  and  it  is  all  that  my  purpose 
requires. 

1  Sm  above,  toL  i.  pp.  100-131. 


216  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

The  earliest  date  which  we  can  regard  as  clearly 
Prehiitorio  established  in  the  history  of  Mexico  is 
*'^«>'  1325  A.  D.,  the  year  in  which  the  great 

Aztec  pueblo  was  founded.  For  whatever  happened 
before  that  time  we  have  to  grope  our  way  in  the 
uncertain  light  of  vague  or  conflicting  traditions 
and  tempting  but  treacherous  philological  specula- 
tions. It  is  somewhat  as  in  the  history  of  Greece 
before  the  first  Olympiad.  Sundry  movements  of 
peoples  and  a  few  striking  incidents  loom  up 
through  the  fog  of  oblivion,  and  there  is  room  for 
surmises  that  things  may  have  happened  in  this 
way  or  in  that  way,  but  whether  we  succeed  in 
putting  events  into  their  true  order,  or  get  them 
withina  century  or  so  of  their  real  dates,  remains 
very  doubtful.  According  to  Mr.  Hubert  Ban- 
croft, the  cool  Mexican  table-land,  since  often 
known  as  Anahuac,^  or  "  lake  country,"  was  oc- 
cupied during  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries  of 
the  Christian  era  by  tribes  «f  various  degrees 
of  barbarism  belonging  to  the  group  ever  since 
known  as  Nahuas.  In  the  fertile  valleys  horticul- 
ture became  developed,  population  increased,  arts 
of  construction  throve,  and  in  course  of  time  a 
kind  of  supremacy  over  the  whole  region  east  and 
south  of  the  lakes  is  said  to  have  been  secured  by 
The**Toi-  certain  confederated  tribes  called  Tol- 
***•"  tecs,  a  name  which  has  been  explained 

as  meaning  "artificers"   or  "builders."      It  has 


^  There  was  no  snoh  thing  as  an  "  empire  of  AniUraac,*^  nor 
the  name  peculiar  to  the  Mexican  table-land ;  it  was  given  to  any 
country  near  a  large  body  of  water,  whether  lake  or  sea.  Se« 
Bnwseur  de  Bourbouzg,  Buines  de  PcdenqiU,  p.  32. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  217 

been  supposed  that  the  name  may  have  been  loosely 
applied  to  pueblo-builders  by  other  people  who 
did  not  erect  such  structures.     Among  the  princi- 
pal seats  of  Toltec  supremacy  we  hear  much  of 
the  city  or  pueblo  of  ToUan,  on  the  site  of  the 
modem  Tillage  of  Tula,  some  forty  miles  to  the 
northwest  of  the  city  of   Mexico.     It  is  well  to  be- 
ware, however,  about  meddling  much  with  these 
Toltecs.     In  some  respects  they  remind  one  of  the 
Pelasgi.     Whatever  seemed  strange  or  inexplicsr 
ble  in  the  early  history  of  Greece,  the  old  his- 
torians used  to  dispose  of  by  calling  in  that  mys- 
terious people,  the  Pelasgi.      Greek  history  had 
its  Pelasgic  dark  cupboard  into  which  it  used  to 
throw  its  nondescript  rubbish  of  speculation ;  and 
I  suspect  that  the  Toltecs  have  furnished  a  similar 
dark  cupboard  to  the  historians  of  Mexico.    There 
was  doubtless,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  a  tribe  of 
Toltecs  which  dwelt  for  a  time  at  ToUan,  and  it 
was  the  misfortune   of  this  people  to  have  its 
name  become  the  vehicle  of  divers  solar  myths 
associated  with  the  fair  god  Quetzalcoatl.     The 
name  Tollan,  which  means  ^^  place  of  the  sun,"  oc- 
curs in  other  parts  of  Mexico ;  it  was  quite  com- 
monly applied  to  Cholula,  the  pueblo  especially 
sacred  to  Quetzalcoatl.^     Wherever  legends  came 
to  be  located  in  which  the  Fair  Gt>d  figured,  his 
followers  the   Toltecs   naturally  figured  likewise. 
*'  All  arts  and  sciences,  all  knowledge  and  culture, 
were  ascribed  to  this  wonderful  mythical  people  ; 
and  wherever  the  natives  were  asked  concerning 
the  ori^  of  ancient   and  unknown  structures, 

^  Bandelier,  Arcitaological  Ttnar  in  MexicOf  p.  IM. 


m  THE  DtSCOVERT  OF  AMXRWA. 

dw^  wmM  rei^j:  'The  Toltecs  bnih  them.'^'i 
Ik  this  my  seems  to  bnw  been  generated  thai 
ttodon  <tf  a  ^  Toltec  empire  **  which  has  bewildered 
«d  misled  «,  many  mrite«. 

In  opposition  to  the  Tdtecs  we  find  frequent 
Tw  «^cueu-  mention  of  the  Chichimecs,  whose  name 
^"^  is  said  to  mean  **  baibaiians.'*     Such 

an  epith^  would  indicate  that  their  enemies  held 
diem  in  scorn,  but  does  not  otherwise  give  us 
much  information.  At  the  time  of  the  Disooveiy 
it  was  applied  in  two  very  different  senses ;  1.  in 
general,  to  the  roaming  savage  tribes  far  to  the 
north  of  An&huae,  and  2.  in  particular,  to  the 
^  line  of  kings  '^  (i.  e.  clan  out  of  which  the  head 
war-chiefs  were  chosen)  at  Tezcuco.*  This  may 
indicate  that  at  some  time  the  great  pueblo-town 
of  Tezeuco  was  seized  and  appropriated  by  a  peo- 
ple somewhat  inferior  in  culture ;  or  that  neigh- 
bouring pueblos  applied  to  the  Tezcucans  an  op- 
probrious epithet  which  stuck ;  or,  perhaps,  that 
at  some  time  the  Tezcucans  may  ha\*e  repelled  an 
invasion  of   lower  peoples,  so   that  their  chiefs 

^  See  Brinton,  *'  The  Toltees  and  their  Fahnloos  Empire,*'  in 
Vb  EsMtjfs  ^an  Americanist,  pp.  8^100,  an  admirable  treatment 
^1  the  snbject.  The  notioo  of  the  Toltee  empire  pervudea  M.  de 
t^tiamay*8  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  and  detracta  from 
tlie  rahxe  of  that  able  book.  M.  de  Chamay*8  arehteolo^oal 
%«rk  is  yery  good,  bat  his  hiatorieal  speoolationt  wiU  bear  oos- 
videnible  reyision  and  excision. 

^  Their  history  has  been  written  by  their  descendant  Fernando 
^  Iztlilxoehitl  (bom  in  1570),  Histmre  des  Chiekim^qties,  et  des 
>mciem  rois  de  TezcwM,  Paris,  1840,  2  vola.  This  work  contains 
UMiny  yaloable  faets,  but  its  authority  is  gravely  impaired  by  the 
^i  that  Ixtlilxochitl  *'  wrote  for  an  interested  object,  and  with 
ti^  view  of  sustaining  tribal  claims  in  liie  eyes  of  the  Spaniah 
^iM«niDeat"    Sae  Bandelier,  ArduEological  Tour,  p.  192, 


/ 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO. 


219 


^re  called  Chicliiinecs  by  way  of  compliment,  as 
Roman  warriors  were  called  Germanicus  or  Afri- 
canns.  Ingenuity  may  amuse  itself  with  surmises, 
but  the  true  explanation  is  often  something  that 
nobody  would  have  thought  of.  It  is  not  even 
certain  that  the  name  means  barbarian,  or  any- 
thing of  the  sort.^  The  Chichimecs  are  no  more 
than  the  Toltecs  a  safe  subject  for  speculation.^ 

It  may  have  been  anywhere  from  the  ninth  to  the 
eleventh  century  that  a  number  of  Nahua  tribes, 
coming  from  some  imdetermined  north-  Tbew«in» 
erly  region  which  they  called  Aztlan,^  in-  ^^'^ 
vaded  the  territory  of  Anahuac,  and  planted  them- 

^  Mr.  Bandelier,  unproyiDg  upon  a  hint  of  the  learned  Veytia 
{Historia  antigua  del  Mijico^  cap.  zii.  p.  143),  suggests  that  the 
word  Chichimecs  may  mean  *'  kin  of  red  men."  Peabody  Museum 
Bqtorts,  u.  303. 

'^  The  learned  R&mi  Sim^n,  in  his  introduction  to  the  AnnaUs 
de  Chimalpahin  Quauhilehuanitzin,  Paris,  1889,  has  not  quite  sno- 
eeeded  in  avoiding  Ihe  pitfalls  which  surround  this  subject ;  e.  g. 
**Ce8  troia  glands  peuples,  les  Tolt^qnes,  les  Mezicains,  et  lea 
Chiohim^nes,  avaient  done  ohacun  leur  caract^  partionlier. 
Les  Tolt^ues  ^taient  artisans,  les  Mezicains  guerriers  et  com- 
mer^ants,  les  Chichim^nes  agriculteurs,'*  etc.,  p.  zzxvi  This 
tort  of  generalization  does  not  help  us  much. 

'  The  situation  of  Aztlan,  and  the  meaning  of  the  name,  haye 
furnished  themes  for  much  speculation.  Mr.  Morgan,  following 
Acosta  and  Clayigero,  interpreted  Aztlan  as  *^  place  of  cranes,*' 
and  inferred  that  it  must  have  been  in  New  Mexico,  where 
cranes  abound  (Houses  and  House-Life j  p.  105).  Duran  trans- 
lated it  **  place  of  whiteness  "  (Historia  de  Nueva  EsparUij  L  19) ; 
but,  as  Dr.  Brinton  observes,  it  may  mean  **  place  by  salt  water  *' 
(Essays  of  an  Americanist,  p.  88).  Father  Duran  thought  that 
Aztlan  was  mtuated  within  the  region  of  our  Gulf  States;  of. 
Brssseur,  Hist,  des  nations  civilisies  de  VAmerique  centrale,  ii.  292. 
Some  writers  have  supposed  it  was  the  home  of  the  "mound- 
builders"  in  the  Mississippi,  and  in  recent  times  a  group  of 
•arthworks  in  Wisconsin  has  been  named  Aztlan  or  Aztalaiu 


220  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

selves  at  various  commanding  points.  It  is  prob- 
able that  there  was  a  series  of  waves  of  invasion 
by  peoples  essentially  the  same  in  blood  and  speech. 
As  Dr.  Brinton  has  ably  pointed  out,  the  story  of 
Tollan  and  its  people  as  we  find  it  in  three  of  the 
most  unimpeachable  authorities  —  Father  Duran, 
Tezozomoc,  and  the  Codex  Ramirez  —  virtually 
identifies    Toltecs  with  Aztecs.     The  situation  of 

Touanandthe  ^^^  ToUau  which  is  uow  Called  Tula 
Serpent  Hui.    ^^  ^^  ^^^  ^j   ^j^^   principal   ancient 

trails  from  the  north  into  the  elevated  Valley  of 
Mexico.  It  was  a  natural  pass  or  gateway,  and 
had  the  importance  which  belongs  to  such  places. 
The  ruins  of  the  ancient  town  are  upon  a  small 
hill,  known  as  Coatepetl,  or  Serpent  Hill,  which 
figures  largely  in  the  legends  about  the  Toltecs. 
The  town  consisted  of  large  edifices  built  of  rub- 
ble-stone mingled  with  adobe-brick,  with  flat  and 
terraced  roofs,  somewhat  after  the  fashion,  per- 
haps, of  the  pueblos  in  New  Mexico.  Mural  paint- 
ing and  figure-carving  were  practised  by  its  in- 
habitants. According  to  the  authorities  just  cited, 
there  was  a  division  among  the  Nahua  tribes 
migrating  from  Aztlan.  Some  passed  on  into  th^ 
Valley  of  Mexico,  while  others  fortified  them- 
selves on  the  Serpent  Hill  and  built  a  temple  to 
the  war-god  Huitzilopochtli.  The  city  of  Tollan 
thus  founded  lasted  for  some  generations,  until  its 
people,  hard  pressed  by  hostile  neighbours,  re- 
Much  more  probable  are  the  yiews  of  Mendieta  {Historia  Ecde- 
nastica,  p.  144),  who  places  it  in  the  province  of  XaUaco ;  or  of 
Orozco  y  Berra  {Historia  atttigua  de  Mexico,  torn.  iii.  cap.  4),  -who 
places  it  in  Michoacan.  Albert  Gallatin  expressed  a  similar  yiaw 
in  Trafu,  Amer.  Ethnolog.  Soc,,  u.  202. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  221 

treated  into  the  Valley  of  Mexico,  and  afterward 
built  the  city  which  has  become  famous  under 
that  name.^ 

In  this  story  the  founders  of  Mexico  are  virtu- 
ally identified  with  those  of  ToUan.  Following 
this  hint,  we  may  suppose  the  "  Toltec  period  "  in 
Mexican  tradition  to  have  been  simply  the  period 
when  the  pueblo-town  of  ToUan  was  flourishing, 
and  domineered  most  likely  over  neighbouring 
pueblos.     One  mifi'ht  thus  speak  of  it 

n  1         4.       1  rm     1  The  fabuloni 

as  one  would  speak  of  the  "  Iheban  "Toiteoemp 
period »  in  Greek  history.  After  Ae  •*"•" 
Toltec  period,"  with  perhaps  an  intervening 
Chichimec  period  "  of  confusion,  came  the  "  Az- 
tec period ; "  or  in  other  words,  some  time  after 
ToUan  lost  its  importance,  the  city  of  Mexico 
came  to  the  front.  Such,  I  suspect,  is  the  slen- 
der historical  residuum  imderlying  the  legend  of  a 
"  Toltec  empire."  ^ 

The  Codex  Kamirez  assigns  the  year  1168  as 
the  date  of  the  abandonment  of  the  Serpent  Hill 
by  the  people  of  Tollan.  We  begin  to  leave  this 
twilight  of  legend  when  we  meet  the  TheA2tec«, 
Aztecs  already  encamped  in  the  Valley  fn^o?the  dty 
of  Mexico.  Finding  the  most  obviously  °^  ^«**<^*>- 
eligible  sites  preoccupied,  they  were  sagacious 
enough  to  detect  the  advantages  of  a  certain  marshy 
spot  through  which  the  outlets  of  lakes  Chalco  and 
Xochimilco,  besides  sundry  rivulets,  flowed  north- 
ward and  eastward  into  Lake  Tezcuco.     Here  in 

^  Duran,  Historia  de  las  Indiaa  de  Nueva  Espana,  cap.  iii. ; 
Tezozomoc,  Crdnica  Mexicana^  cap.  ii. ;  Codex  BamireZj  p.  24. 
^  See  Brinton,  op.  cit.  p.  89. 


222  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

m 

the  year  1325  they  began  to  build  their  pueblo, 
which  they  called  Tenochtitlaii,  —  a  name  whereby 
hangs  a  tale.  When  the  Aztecs,  hard  pressed  by 
foes,  took  refuge  among  these  marshes,  they  came 
upon  a  sacrificial  stone  which  they  recognized  as 
one  upon  which  some  years  before  one  of  their 
priests  had  immolated  a  captive  chief.  From  a 
crevice  in  this  stone,  where  a  little  earth  was  im- 
bedded, .there  grew  a  cactus,  upon  which  sat  an 
eagle  holding  in  its  beak  a  serpent.  A  priest  in- 
geniously interpreted  this  symbolism  as  a  prophecy 
of  signal  and  long-continued  victory,  and  forthwith 
diving  into  the  lake  he  had  an  interview  with 
Tlaloc,  the  god  of  waters,  who  told  him  that  upon 
that  very  spot  the  people  were  to  build  their  town. 
The  place  was  therefore  called  Tenochtitlan,  or 
"  p!ace  of  the  cactus-rock,"  but  the  name  under 
which  it  afterward  came  to  be  best  known  was 
taken  from  Mexitl,  one  of  the  names  of  the  war- 
god  Huitzilopochtli.  The  device  of  the  rock  and 
cactus,  with  the  eagle  and  serpent,  formed  a  tribal 
totem  for  the  Aztecs,  and  has  been  adopted  as  the 
coat-of-arms  of  the  present  Republic  of  Mexico. 
The  pueblo  of  Tenochtitlan  was  surrounded  by 
salt  marshes,  which  by  dint  of  dikes  and  cause- 
ways the  Aztecs  gradually  converted  into  a  large 
artificial  lake,  and  thus  made  their  pueblo  by  far 
the  most  defensible  stronghold  in  Anahuac,  —  im- 
pregnable, indeed,  so  far  as  Indian  modes  of  attack 
were  concerned.^ 

^  According^  to  Mr.  Bandolier  the  only  Indian  position  compaiw 
able  vith  it  for  strength  was  that  of  Atitlan,  in  Guatemala.  Pe<^ 
bodj/  Museum  Reports^  W.  ii.  p.  97. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  223 

The  advantages  of    this   commanding  position 
'^ere  slowly  but   surely  realized.      A   dangerous 
neighbour  upon  the  western  shore  of  the  lake  was 
't;be  tribe  of  Tecpanecas,  whose  principal  pueblo 
^^ras  Azcaputzalco.     The  Aztecs  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing an  alliance  with  these  Tecpanecas,  but  it  was 
upon  unfavourable  terms  and  involved  the  payment 
€>f  tribute  to  Azcaputzalco.     It  gave  the  Aztecs, 
liowever,   some  time  to   develop    their   strength. 
Their   military  organization   was   gradually  per- 
fected, and  in  1375  they  elected  their  first  tlaccUe- 
etihtlij  or  "  chief-of-men,"  whom  European  writers, 
in  the  loose  phraseology  formerly  current,  called 
*'  founder  of  the  Mexican  empire."     The  name  of 
this   official   was   Acamapichtli,  or   ^Handful-of- 
Heeds."    During  the  eight-and-twenty  years  of  his 
chieftaincy  the  pueblo  houses  in  Tenoch- 
titlan  began  to  be  built  very  solidly  of  Aatec"chi8f»- 
stone,  and  the  irregular  water-courses 
flowing  between  them  were  improved  into  canals. 
Some  months  after  his  death  in  1403  his  son  Hui- 
tzilihuitl,  or  "  Humming-bird,"  was  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed him.      This  Huitzilihuitl  was  succeeded  in 
1414  by  his  brother  Chimalpopoea,  or  **  Smoking 
Shield,"  under  whom  temporary  calamity  visited 
the  Aztec  town.     The  alliance  with  Azcaputzalco 
was  broken,  and  that  pueblo  joined  its  forces  to 
those  of  Tezcuco  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake. 
United  they  attacked  the  Aztecs,  defeated  them, 
and  captured  their  chief-of-men,  who  died  a  pris- 
oner in  1427.     He  was  succeeded  by  Izcoatzin,  or 
"  Obsidian  Snake,"  an  aged  chieftain  who  died  in 
1436. 


224  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

During  these  nine  years  a  complete  change  came 
over  the  scene.  Quarrels  arose  between  Azeapu* 
tzalco  and  Tezcuco ;  the  latter  pueblo  entered  into 
alliance  with  Tenochtitlan,  and  together  they  over- 
Destruction  of  whclmcd  and  destroyed  Azcaputzaloo, 
Axcapatxaioo.    gjjj    butchcrcd    most    of    its    people. 

What  was  left  of  the  conquered  pueblo  was  made 
a  slave  mart  for  the  Aztecs,  and  the  renmant  of 
the  people  were  removed  to  the  neighbouring 
pueblo  of  Tlacopan,  which  was  made  tributaiy  to 
Mexico.  By  this  great  victory  the  Aztecs  also 
acquired  secure  control  of  the  springs  upon  Che- 
pultepec,  or  ^^  Grasshopper  EQll/'  which  furnished 
a  steady  supply  of  fresh  water  to  their  island 
pueblo. 

The  next  step  was  the  formation  of  a  partner* 
ship  between  the  three  pueblo  towns,  Tenochtitlan, 
Tezcuco,  and  Tlacopan,  for  the  organized  and  sys- 
tematic plunder  of  other  pueblos.  All  the  tribute 
or  spoils  extorted  was  to  be  divided  into  five  parts, 
of  which  two  parts  each  were  for  Tezcuco  and  Te- 
nochtitlan,  and  one  part  for  Tlacopan.  The  Azteo 
chief-of-men  became  military  commander  of  the 
The  Mexksn  Confederacy,  which  now  began  to  extend 
Confederacy,  operations  to  a  distance.  The  next  four 
chief s-of -men  were  Montezuma,  or  "  Angry  Chief,** 
the  First,  from  1436  to  1464 ;  Axayacatl,  or  "  Face- 
in -the -Water,"  from  1464  to  1477  ;  Tizoc,  or 
"  Wounded  Leg,"  from  1477  to  1486 ;  and  Ahui- 
zotl,  or  "  Water-Rat,"  from  1486  to  1502.  Un- 
der these  chiefs  the  great  temple  of  Mexico  was 
completed,  and  the  aqueduct  from  Chepultepec  was 
increased  in  capacity  until  it  not  only  supplied 


p 


{ 


226  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

water  for  ordinary  uses,  but  could  also  be  made  to 
maintain  the  level  of  the  canals  and  the  lake. 
In  the  driest  seasons,  therefore,  Tenochtitlan  re- 
mained safe  from  attack.  Forth  from  this  well- 
protected  lair  the  Aztec  warriors  went  on  their 
errands  of  blood.  Thirty  or  more  pueblo  towns, 
mostly  between  Tenochtitlan  and  the  Gulf  coast, 
scattered  over  an  area  about  the  size  of  Massachu- 
setts, were  made  tributary  to  the  Confederacy; 
and  as  all  these  communities  spoke  the  Nahua  lan- 
guage, this  process  of  conquest,  if  it  had  not  been 
cut  short  by  the  Spaniards,  might  in  course  of 
time  have  ended  in  the  formation  of  a  primitive 
kind  of  state.  This  tributary  area  formed  but  a 
very  small  portion  of  the  country  which  we  call 
Mexico.  If  the  reader  will  just  look  at  a  map  of 
the  Republic  of  Mexico  in  a  modem  atlas,  and 
observe  that  the  states  of  Queretaro,  Guanaxuato, 
Michoacan,  Guerrero,  and  a  good  part  of  La 
Puebla,  lie  outside  the  region  sometimes  absurdly 
styled  "  Monteziuna's  Empire,"  and  surround  three 
sides  of  it,  he  will  begin  to  put  himself  into  the 
proper  state  of  mind  for  appreciating  the  history 
of  Cortes  and  his  companions.  Into  the  outlying 
region  just  mentioned,  occupied  by  tribes  for  the 
most  part  akin  to  the  Nahuas  in  blood  and  speech, 
the  warriors  of  the  Confederacy  sometimes  ven- 
tured, with  varying  fortunes.  They  levied  occa- 
sional tribute  among  the  pueblos  in  these  regions, 
but  hardly  made  any  of  them  regularly  tributary. 
The  longest  range  of  their  arms  seems  to  have 
been  to  the  eastward,  where  they  sent  their  tax- 
gatherers  along  the  coast  into  the  isthmus  of  Te- 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  227 

hnantepec,  and  came  into  conflict  with  the  warlike 
Mayas  and  Quiches.  On  the  other  hand,  as  already 
observed,  the  Confederacy  did  not  effect  any  true 
military  occupation  of  the  country  near  at  hand, 
and  within  twenty  or  thirty  leagues  of  Tenochti- 
tlan  such  pueblo  towns  as  Cholula  and  Tlascala, 
with  populations  of  about  30,000  persons,  retained 
their  independence.  The  Tlascalans,  Tbehostne 
indeed,  were  a  perpetual  thorn  in  the  ^"~~^*°* 
side  of  the  Confederacy.  Occupying  a  strong  de- 
fensive position,  they  beat  back  repeatedly  the 
forces  of  the  chief-of-men  and  aided  and  abetted 
recalcitrant  pueblos  in  refusing  tribute.  The  state 
of  feeling  between  Tlascalans  and  Aztecs  was  like 
that  between  Romans  and  Carthaginians,  or  Turks 
and  Montenegrins. 

Such  was,  in  general  outline,  what  we  may  call 
the  political  situation  in  the  time  of  the  son  of 
Axayacatl,  the  second  Montezuma,  who  was  elected 
chief-of-men  in  1502,  being  then  thirty-  The«cond 
four  years  of  age.  One  of  the  first  Monteaum*. 
expeditions  led  by  this  Montezuma,  in  1503,  was 
directed  against  the  Tlascalans  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  captives  for  sacrifice ;  it  met  with  disas- 
trous defeat,  and  furnished  victims  for  the  Tlasca- 
lan  altars.  A  raid  of  Montezuma's  into  Michoa- 
can  was  also  repulsed,  but  upon  the  eastern  coast 
he  was  more  successful  in  wringing  tribute  from 
the  pueblo  towns,  and  in  arousing  in  their  inhab- 
itants a  desperate  rage,  ready  to  welcome  any 
chance  of  delivery  from  the  oppressor.  Many 
towns  refused  tribute  and  were  savagely  punished ; 
and  as  always  happens  upon  the  eve  of  a  crisis  in 


228  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

history,  we  hear  wild  rumours  of  supernatural  por- 
tents. There  was  the  usual  tale  of  comet  and 
eclipse,  and  the  volcanic  craters  in  the  Cordillera 
were  thought  to  be  imwontedly  active.^  At  length, 
in  the  course  of  the  year  1518,  came  the  hand- 
writing on  the  wall.  A  certain  Indian  named 
Pinotl  was  Montezuma's  tax-gatherer  (calpiocca) 
and  spy  at  the  pueblo  of  Cuetlachtlan,  some  thirty 
miles  inland  from  the  Gulf  coast  and  about  as  far  to 
the  southward  from  San  Juan  de  UUoa.  To  this 
officer  there  came  one  day  an  Indian  from  the  neigh- 
An  amuiiig  bouring  pueblo  of  Mictlan-Quauhtla  on 
'^^'  the  coast,  with  a  story  the  like  of  which 

no  man  in  all  that  country  had  ever  heard.  He 
had  seen  a  great  tower,  with  wings,  moving  hither 
and  thither  upon  the  sea.  Other  Indians,  sent  to 
verify  the  rumour,  saw  two  such  towers,  and  from 
one  of  them  a  canoe  was  let  down  and  darted 
about  on  the  water,  and  in  it  were  a  kind  of  men 
with  white  faces  and  heavy  beards,  and  they  wen^ 
clad  in  a  strange  and  shining  raiment.^  At  this 
news  the  tax-gatherer  Pinotl,  with  a  body  of  at- 
tendants, hastened  down  to  the  shore  and  met  the 
Spanish  squadron  of  Juan  de  Grijalva.  Pinotl 
went  on  board  one  of  these  marvellous 
tiie  myrteri-     Winged  towcrs,  and  exchansfed  eifts  with 

oui  >tnuifttrt>     ,  _  o        C3 

its  commander,  who  was  pleased  to  hear 
about  the  wealth  and  power  of  Pinotl*s  master, 

^  Bancroft,  History  ofMeTioK  1 113. 

*  T«ioiomoo,  ii.  2^2;  Duran,  iL  359>37< ;  Bancroft,  loc.  ciL 
T«H»omoc  says  that  this  Indian's  ears,  thnmbsY  and  hig  toes  were 
iniitilated ;  concerning^  the  puport  of  which  a  query  wiU  prea- 
•Btlyhe  made. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO,  229 

and  promised  some  day  before  long  to  come  and 
pay  him  a  visit  in  His  great  city  among  the  moun- 
tains. When  the  dread  strangers  had  gone  on 
their  way,  the  tax-gatherer's  party  took  the  short- 
est trail  to  Tenochtitlan,  and  hurrying  to  the  tec- 
pan,  or  coimcil-house,  informed  Montezuma  that 
they  had  seen  and  talked  with  gods.  On  strips  of 
maguey  paper  they  had  made  sketches  of  the 
Spaniards  and  their  ships  and  arms,  along  with 
abimdant  hieroglyphic  comments ;  and  when  all 
this  was  presently  laid  before  the  tribal  council  for 
consideration,  we  may  dimly  imagine  the  wild  and 
agitated  argument  that  must  have  ensued. 

No  doubt  the  drift  of  the  argument  would  be 
quite  imdecipherable  for  us  were  it  not  for  the 
clue  that  is  furnished  by  the  ancient  Mexican 
beliefs  concerning  the  sky-god  and  culture-herd, 
Quetzalcoatl.  This  personage  was  an  ob- 
ject of  reverence  and  a  theme  of  myth-  ^^''^^^ 
ieal  tales  among  aU  the  Nahua  and  Maya  peoples.^ 
Like  Zeus  and  Woden  he  has  been  supposed  to 
have  been  at  some  time  a  terrestrial  hero  who  be- 
came deified  after  his  death,  but  it  is  not  likely 
that  he  ever  had  a  real  existence,  any  more  than 
Zeus  or  Woden.  In  his  attributes  Quetzalcoatl  re- 
sembled both  the  Greek  and  the  Scandinavian  deity. 
He  was  cloud  gatherer,  wielder  of  the  thimderbolt, 
and  ruler  of  the  winds.  As  lord  of  the  clouds  he 
was  represented  as  a  bird ;  as  lord  of  the  lightning 
he  was  represented  as  a  serpent  ;2  and  his  name 

^  The  Mayas  called  him  Cnknlcan. 

^  I  have  fully  explained  this  symbolism  in  Myths  and  Myth* 
Makers,  chap,  ii.,  '*  The  Descent  of  Fixe" 


282  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Quetzal' Coad  means  "Bird-Serpent."^  In  this 
character  of  elemental  deity  he  was  commonly  asso- 
ciated with  Tlaloc,  the  god  of  rain,  of  waters,  and  of 
spring  verdure.^  This  association  is  depicted  upon 
the  two  famous  slabs  discovered  by  Mr.  Stephens 
in  1840  in  the  course  of  his  researches  at  Palenque. 
The  slabs  were  formerly  inlaid  in  the  pillars  that 
supported  the  altar  in  the  building  known  as  the 
"  Temple  of  the  Cross,  No.  1."  They  are  about 
six  feet  in  length  by  three  in  width.  On  the  left- 
hand  slab  Tlaloc  appears  as  a  "  young  man  magni- 
ficently arrayed;  he  wears  a  richly  embroidered 
cape,  a  collar  and  medallion  aroimd  his  neck, 
a  beautiful  girdle  to  his  waist;  the  ends  of  the 
maxtli^    are  hanging  down  front  and  back,  co- 

^  Or  ''Featliered  Serpent.*'  Mr.  Bandelier  {Archaol.  Tour,  p. 
170)  suggests  that  the  word  quetzaUi  **  only  applies  to  feathers  in 
the  sense  of  indicating  their  bright  hnes,**  and  that  the  name 
therefore  means  **  Shining  Serpent.**  Bat  in  the  Mexican  pio- 
tore-writing  the  rebus  for  Quetzalooatl  is  commonly  a  feather 
or  some  other  part  of  a  bird  in  connection  with  a  snake ;  and 
the  so-called  "  tablet  of  the  cross**  at  Palenque  represents  the 
cross,  or  symbol  of  the  four  winds,  '*  surmounted  by  a  bird  and 
supported  by  the  head  of  a  serpent  *'  (Brinton,  Myths  of  the  New 
World f  p.  118).  Here  the  symbolism  is  complete  and  unmis- 
takable. The  cross  is  the  symbol  of  Tlaloc,  the  lain-god,  who 
is  usuaUy  associated  with  QuetzalcoatL 

Two  Tery  learned  and  brilliant  accounts  of  Quetzalooatl  are 
those  of  Bandelier  {ArchcBoi,  Tour,  pp.  16&-216),  and  Brinton 
{American  Hero-Myths,  pp.  63-142).  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
fonner  suffers  somewhat  from  its  Euhemerism,  and  that  Dr. 
Brinton,  treating  the  subject  from  the  standpoint  of  comparative 
mythology,  gives  a  truer  picture.  Mr.  Bandelier*s  account,  how- 
ever, contains  much  that  is  invaluable. 

*  Sahagun,  Hist,  de  las  cosas  de  la  Nueva  Eqtafia,  lib.  n.  cap.  1. 

*  **Maxtlatl,  bragas,  o  cosa  semejante,^  Molina,  Voctdniarioif 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  233 

thumi  cover  his  feet  and  legs  up  to  the  knee.  On 
the  upper  end  of  his  head-dress  is  the  Qaetiaioonti 
head  of  a  stork,  having  a  fish  in  his  bill,  "*^  '^aioo, 
whilst  other  fishes  are  ranged  below  it."  ^  The 
righthand  slab  represents  Quetzalcoatl  as  an  old 
man,  clad  in  the  skin  of  an  ocelot,  or  Mexican 
"  tiger,"  and  blowing  puffs  of  air  through  a  tube. 
The  bird's  brilliant  feathers  and  sharp  beak  are 
seen  in  his  head-dress,  and  about  his  waist  is  the 
serpent  twisting  and  curling  before  and  behind. 

The  building  at  Palenque  in  which  these  sculp- 
tured slabs  once  adorned  the  altar  ap-  speciaiiution 
pears  to  have  been  a  temple  consecrated  ISSSi" 
to  Quetzalcoatl  and  Tlaloc.     The  con-  ^®*^^* 
nection  between  the  two  deities  was  so  close  that 
their  festivals  "were  celebrated  together  on  the 
same  day,  which  was  the  first  of  the  first  month  of 
the  Aztec  calendar,  in  February."  ^    There   was 
nothing  like  equality  between  the  two,  however. 
Tlaloc  remained  specialized  as  the  god  of  rains  and 
giver  of  harvests  ;  he  was  attached  as  a  subordinate 
appendage  to  the  mighty  Blower  of   Winds   and 
Wielder  of  Lightning,  and  his  symbolism  served 
to  commemorate  the  elemental  character  of  the 
latter.     On  the  other  hand  Quetzalcoatl,  without 
losing  his  attributes  as  an  elemental  deity,  acquired 
many  other  attributes.     As  has   frequently  hap- 
pened to   sky-gods    and   solar    heroes,  oe„eraiiMti<m 
he  became  generalized  imtil  almost  all  eLu^w^cii- 
kinds   of  activities  and  interests  were  *"'®-**«™- 
ascribed  to  him.     As  god  of  the  seasons,  he  was 

^  Chamay,  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  Worlds  p.  216. 
*  Brinton,  American  Hero-Myths^  p.  125. 


284  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

said  to  have  inrented  the  Aztec  calendsr.  He 
taught  men  how  to  cut  and  polish  stones ;  he  was 
patron  of  traders,  and  to  him  in  many  a  pueUo 
ingenious  thieves  prayed  for  success,  as  Ghieek 
thieves  prayed  to  Hermes.  It  was  he  that  pro- 
moted fertility  among  men,  as  well  as  in  the  v^e- 
table  world ;  sterile  wives  addressed  to  him  their 
vows.  Yet  at  the  same  time  Quetzalooatl  held 
celibacy  in  honour,  and  in  many  pueblos  houses  of 
nuns  were  consecrated  to  him.  Other  features  of 
asceticism  occurred  in  his  service;  his  priests  were 
accustomed  to  mutilate  their  tongues,  ears,  and 
other  parts  of  the  body  by  piercing  them  with 
cactus  thorns. 

As  Zeus  had  his  local  habitation  upon  Mount 
Olympus  and  was  closely  associated  with  the  island 
of  Crete,  so  Quetzalcoatl  had  his  favourite  spots. 
Cholula  was  one  of  them ;  another  was  Tollan, 
but,  as  already  observed,  this  place  was  something 
more  than  the  town  which  commanded  the  trail 
from  Mexico  into  the  north  country.  Like  Cad- 
mus and  Apollo,  this  New  World  culture-deity 
had  his  home  in  the  far  east ;  there  was  his  Tol- 
Ian,  or  '^  place  of  the  sun.''  And  here  we  come  to 
the  most  interesting  part  of  the  stoiy,  the  conflict 
between  Light  and  Darkness,  which  in  all  aborigi* 
nal  American  folk-lore  appears  in  such  transpar- 
ent and  unmistakable  garb.^      One  of  the  most 

'  In  this  aspect  of  the  power  of  light  contending  against  tha 
power  of  darkness,  Qaetsalcoatl  is  the  oonnterpart  of  the  Algon- 
quin Miohabo,  the  Iroquois  loskeha,  and  the  Pemyian  Viracoeha, 
to  whom  wo  shall  by  and  by  hare  oooasion  to  refer.  See  ~ 
M^tki  rftU  Ntw  Wtrld,  ohap.  yL 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  286 

important  figures  in  the  Mexican  pantheon  was 
Tezcatlipooa,  the  dread  lord  of  night  The  dark  t«i- 
and  darkness,  the  jealous  power  that  ^•'"p****- 
visited  mankind  with  famine  and  pestilence,  the 
ravenous  demon  whose  food  was  human  hearts. 
No  deity  was  more  sedulously  worshipped  than 
Tezcatlipoca,  doubtless  on  the  theory,  conmion 
among  barbarous  people,  that  it  is  by  all  means 
desirable  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  the  evil 
powers.  Between  Quetzalcoatl  and  Tezcatlipoca 
there  was  everlasting  hostility.  The  latter  deity 
had  once  been  the  sun,  but  Quetzalcoatl  had 
knocked  him  out  of  the  sky  with  a  big  club,  and 
jumping  into  his  place  had  become  the  sun  instead 
of  him.  Tezcatlipoca,  after  tumbling  into  the  sea, 
rose  again  in  the  night  sky  as  the  Great  Bear ; 
and  so  things  went  on  for  awhile,  until  suddenly 
the  Evil  One  transformed  himself  into  a  tiger,  and 
with  a  blow  of  his  paw  struck  Quetzalcoatl  from 
the  sky.  Amid  endless  droll  and  uncouth  inci- 
dents the  struggle  continued,  and  the  combatants 
changed  their  shapes  as  often  as  in  the  Norse  tale 
of  Farmer  Weathersky.^  The  contest  formed  the 
theme  of  a  whole  cycle  of  Mexican  legends,  some 
grave,  some  humorous,  many  of  them  quite  pretty.^ 
In  some  of  these  legends  the  adversaries  figured, 
not  as  elementary  giants,  but  as  astute  and  potent 
men.     The  general  burden  of  the  tale,  the  condu- 

^  See  also  the  delicious  story  of  the  Gmagach  of  Tricks,  in 
Curtin's  Myths  and  Folk-Lore  of  Ireland^  pp.  189-156. 

^  Quite  a  number  were  taken  down  by  Father  Sahagun  (about 
1540)  from  the  lips  of  the  natives,  in  the  original  Nahuatl,  and 
are  given  in  his  Hist,  de  las  cosas  de  Nueva  Espaha,  lib.  ill.,, and 
in  Brinton^s  American  Hero-Myths^  pp.  106-1 10. 


286  THE  DISCOVERY.  OF  AMEBICA. 

sion  most  firmly  riveted  in  the  Mexican  mind,  was 
that  Quetzalcoati  had  been  at  last  outwitted  by 
his  darlc  enemy  and  obliged  to  forsake  the  land.^ 
EzneofQue-  Accompanicd  by  a  few  youthful  wor- 
'■■*®^**^  shippers  he  fared  forth  from  Cholula, 
and  when  he  had  reached  the  eastern  shore,  some- 
where in  the  Coatzacualco  country,  between  Cue- 
tlachtlan  and  Tabasco,  he  bade  farewell  to  his 
young  companions,  saying  that  he  must  go  farther, 
but  at  some  future  time  he  should  return  from  the 
east  with  men  as  fair-shinned  as  himself  and  take 
possession  of  the  country.  As  to  whither  he  had 
gone,  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion.  Some 
held  that  he  had  floated  out  to  sea  on  a  raft  of 
serpent  skins  ;  others  believed  that  his  body  had 
been  consumed  with  fire  on  the  beach,  and  that  his 
soul  had  been  taken  up  into  the  morning  star. 
But  in  whatever  way  he  had  gone,  all  were  agreed 
that  in  the  fulness  of  time  Quetzalcoati  would 
return  from  the  eastern  ocean,  with  white-faced 
companions,  and  renew  his  beneficent  rule  over 
the  Mexican  people.* 

His  return,  it  would  seem,  must  needs  involve 
the  dethronement  of  the  black  Tezcatlipoca.  Ac- 
cording to  one  group  of  legends  the  fair  culture- 

^  Wbat  a  pathos  theie  is  in  these  qnaint  stories  I  These  poor 
Indians  dimly  saw  what  we  see,  that  the  Evil  One  is  hard  to  kiU 
and  often  seems  triumphant.  When  things  seem  to  hare  a^yed 
at  sneh  a  pass,  the  nntntored  human  mind  comforts  itself  with 
Messianio  hopes,  often  destined  to  he  rudely  shocked,  hut  based 
no  doubt  upon  a  sound  and  wholesome  instinct,  and  one  that  the 
future  career  of  mankind  wiU  justify.  It  is  interesting  to  watch 
the  rudimental  glimmerings  of  such  a  hope  in  such  a  peojde  as 
the  andent  Mexicans. 

*  Brintoo,  pp,  eU.  pp.  117,  133. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  287 

Iiero  condemned  the  sacrifice  of  human  beings,  and 
lield  that  the  perfume  of  flowers  and  in-  Expectation 
cense  was*  sufficient  without  the  shed-  ^fhia  return. 
<3ing  of  blood ;  in  similar  wise  he  was  said  to  look 
"vrith  disapproval  upon  wars  and  violence  of  what- 
ever sort.  If  the  theory  which  found  expression 
in  these  legends  should  prove  correct,  the  advent 
of  Quetzalcoatl  would  overturn  the  worship  of 
Tezcatlipoca,  who  demanded  human  victims,  and 
likewise  that  of  his  grewsome  ally  Huitzilopochtli, 
tlie  war-god  who  presided  over  the  direful  contests 
in  which  such  victims  were  obtained.  In  short,  it 
"would  revolutionize  the  whole  system  upon  which 
the  political  and  social  life  of  the  Nahua  peoples 
liad  from  time  immemorial  been  conducted.  One 
is  naturally  curious  to  know  how  far  such  a  theory 
could  have  expressed  a  popular  wish  and  not 
merely  a  vague  speculative  notion,  but  upon  this 
point  our  information  is  lamentably  meagre.  It 
does  not  appear  that  there  was  any  general  long- 
ing for  the  reign  of  Quetzalcoatl,  like  that  of  the 
Jews  for  their  Messianic  Kingdom.  But  the  no- 
tion that  such  a  kingdom  was  to  come  was  cer- 
tainly a  common  one  in  ancient  Mexico,  and  even 
in  that  fierce  society  there  may  well  have  been  per- 
sons to  whom  the  prevalence  of  wholesale  slaugh- 
ter did  not  commend  itself,  and  who  were  ready  to 
welcome  the  hope  of  a  change. 

When  the  Spanish  ships  arrived  upon  the  Mexi- 
can coast  in  1518,  the  existence  of  this  general 
Ijelief  was  certainly  a  capital  fact,  and  probably 
the  supreme  fact,  in  the  political  and  military  situ- 
ation.   It  eiSectually  paralyzed  the  opposition  to 


288  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

their  entrance  into  the  country.  Surely  such  a 
Fulfilment  of  gToupiug  of  f  ortuuate  coincidences  was 
SSJdSry*'*"  never  known  save  in  fairy  tales.  As  the 
ootncidencee.    gpajugh  ships  camc  Sailing  past  Tabasco, 

they  were  just  reversing  the  route  by  which  Que- 
tzalcoatl  had  gone  out  into  the  ocean ;  as  he  had 
gone,  so  they  were   coming  in   strict  fulfilment 
of  prophecy!     Mictlan-Quauhtla  was  evidently  a 
point  from  which  the  returning  deity  was  likely  to 
be  seen  ;  and  when  we  read  that  the  Indian  who 
ran  with  the  news  to  Cuetlachtlan  had  his  ears, 
thumbs,  and  toes  mutilated,  how  can  we  help  re- 
membering that  this  particular  kind  of  self-torture 
was  deemed  a  fit  method  of  ingratiating  oneself 
into  the  favour  of  Quetzalcoatl  ?     When  Pinotl 
went  on  board  ship  he  found  the  mysterious  vis- 
itors answering  in  outward  aspect  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  legend.     In  most  mythologies  the 
solar  heroes   are    depicted   with    abundant    hair. 
Quetzalcoatl  was  sometimes,  though  not  always, 
represented  with  a  beard  longer  and  thicker  than 
one  would  have   been  likely  to  see  in  ancient 
America.     The  bearded   Spaniards  were,  there- 
iore^  at  once  recognized  as  his  companions.    There 
were  sure  to  be  some  blonde  Visigoth  complexions 
among  them,^  and  tlieir  general  hue  was  somewhat 
fairer  than  that  of  the  red  men.     Nothing  more 
was  needed  to  convince  the  startled  Aztecs  that 
the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  ¥ras  at  hand.    Moik 

^  Indeed,  we  know  of  at  least  one  sneli  blonde  on  this  fieet| 
Pedro  de  AlTamdo,  whom  the  Me^dcam  called  TonativA,  "  aim- 
faced/'  on  account  of  his  shaggy  yellow  hair  and  mddy  eoitt* 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  289 

tezuma  could  hardly  fail  thus  to  understand  the 
case,  and  it  filled  him  with  misgivings.  We  may 
be  sure  that  to  the  anxious  council  in  the  tecpan 
every  shooting-star,  every  puff  from  the  crater  of 
Popocatepetl,  and  whatever  omen  of  good  or  evil 
could  be  gathered  from  any  quarter,  came  up  for 
fresh  interpretation  in  the  Ught  of  this  strange  in. 
telK^ence.  Let  us  leave  them  pondering  the  situa- 
tion, while  we  turn  our  attention  to  the  Spaniards, 
and  observe  by  what  stages  they  had  approached 
the  Mexican  coast. 

From  the  island  of  Hispaniola  as  a  centre,  the 
work  of  discovery  spread  in  all  direc- 
tions,  and  not  slowly,  when  one  con-  the  work  of 
siders  the  difficulties  involved  in  it.  fromHiapifc. 
With  the  arrival  of  Diego  Columbus, 
as  admiral  and  governor  of  the  Indies,  in  1509, 
there  was  increased  activity.  In  1511  he  sent 
Velasquez  to  conquer  Cuba,  and  two  years  later 
Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  governor  of  Porto  Rico, 
landed  upon  the  coast  of  Florida.  In  the  autumn 
of  1509  the  ill-fated  expeditions  of  Ojeda  and  Ni- 
cuesa  began  their  work  upon  the  coast  of  Darien ; 
and  in  1513  Balboa  crossed  that  isthmus  and  dis- 
covered the  Pacific  ocean.  Rumours  of  the  distant 
kingdom  of  the  Incas  reached  his  ears,  and  in  1517 
he  was  about  starting  on  a  voyage  to  the  south, 
when  he  was  arrested  on  a  charge  of  premeditating 
treason  and  desertion,  and  was  put  to  death  by  Pe- 
drarias,  governor  of  Daiien.  This  melancholy 
story  will  claim  our  attention  in  a  future  chapter. 
It  is  merely  mentioned  here,  in  its  chronological 


240  TELE  BISCOVEBY  OF  AMERICA. 

order,  as  liaving  a  kind  of  suggestiyeness  in  codp 
nection  with  the  conduct  of  Cortes. 

After  the  fall  of  Balboa  the  Spaniards  for  soma 
time  made  little  or  no  progress  to  the  southward, 
but  their  attention  was  mainly  directed  to  the  west- 
ward. In  1616  food  was  scarce  in  Darien,  and  to 
relieve  the  situation  about  a  himdred  of  the  colo- 
nists were  sent  over  to  Cuba;  among  them  was 
c6idoTa>a«x.  ^^  soldicr  of  fortuuc,  Bemal  Diaz  de 
P«iiti<m,i6i7.  CastiUo,  afterward  one  of  the  most  far 
mous  of  chroniclers.  These  men  had  plenty  of 
Indian  gold,  with  which  they  fitted  up  a  couple  of 
ships  to  go  slave-catching  in  the  bay  of  Honduras. 
The  governor,  Velasquez,  added  a  ship  of  his  own 
to  the  expedition,  and  the  chief  command  was 
given  to  Francisco  Hernandez  de  C6rdova,  a  man 
"  very  prudent  and  courageous,  and  strongly  dis- 
posed to  kill  and  kidnap  Indians."  ^  The  chief 
pilot  was  Antonio  de  Alaminos,  who  had  been 
with  Columbus  on  his  fourth  voyage,  and  there 
were  in  all  more  than  a  hundred  soldiers.  From 
Santiago  they  sailed,  in  Februaiy,  1617,  through 
the  Windward  Passage  around  to  Puerto  Principe 
to  take  in  simdry  supplies.  While  they  were  wait- 
ing there  the  pilot,  recalling  to  mind  some  things 
that  Columbus  had  told  him,  was  seized  with  the 
idea  that  a  rich  country  might  be  discovered  within 
a  short  distance  by  sailing  to  the  west.  Cordova 
¥ras  persuaded  by  his  arguments,  and  loyally  s^it 

^  Laa  Cans,  Historia  de  lot  IndiaSy  tarn,  it.  p.  309.  This  soct 
of  expedition  was  illegal,  and  so  it  was  publicly  announced  that 
the  expedition  waa  fitted  out  for  purposes  of  diseoTery.  See  Ban* 
oroft'a  Mtgkpt  toL  i  p.  0. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  241 

word  to  Velasquez,  asking  if  he  might  be  allowed 
to  act  as  governor's  lieutenant  in  any  new  lands  he 
might  discover.^  Assent  having  been  given,  the 
little  fleet  finally  sailed  from  the  lately-founded  town 
of  Havana,  and  presently  reached  the  northeastern 
comer  of  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan.  Here  the 
Spaniards  for  the  first  time  saw  signs  of  that  Ori- 
ental civilization  for  which  they  had  so  long  been 
looking  in  vain.  Strange-looking  towers  or  pyra- 
mids,  ascended  by  stone  steps,  greeted  their  eyes, 
and  the  people,  who  came  out  in  canoes  to  watch 
the  ships,  were  clad  in  quilted  cotton  doublets,  and 
wore  cloaks  and  brilliant  plumes.  These  Mayas 
were  bitterly  hostile.  Apparently  they 
had  heard  of  the  Spaniards.  It  would  meMMmrof 
have  been  strange  indeed  if,  in  the  six 
years  since  Velasquez  had  invaded  Cuba,  not  a 
whisper  of  all  the  slaughter  and  enslavement  in 

^  This  18  graphically  told  by  Las  Casas:  — "  Y  estando  all^^ 
dijo  el  piloto  Alamiaos  al  capitan  Franoiaco  Hernandez  que  le 
parecia  qae  por  aquella  mar  del  Poniento,  abajo  de  la  dicha  isla 
de  Cuba,  le  daba  el  corazon  que  habia  de  baber  tierra  may  rica, 
porque  cuando  andaba  con  el  Almirante  viejo,  siendo  ^1  mnobacho, 
via  qne  el  Almirante  se  inclinaba  macho  k  naregar  hacia  aqaella 
partCf  con  esperanza  grande  qae  tenia  que  habia  de  hallar  tierra 
may  poblada  y  may  mds  rica  qae  hasta  allf,  4  qae  asi  lo  afirmaba, 
y  porque  le  faltaron  los  navios  no  prosigai<S  aquel  oamino,  y  tom<S, 
desde  el  cabo  que  puso  nombre  de  Gracias  &  Dios,  atras  A  la 
provincia  de  Veragua.  Dicho  ^to,  el  Francisco  Hernandez,  que 
era  de  buena  esperanza  y  buen  dnimo,  asentdndosele  aquestas 
palabraSf  determine  de  enviar  por  licencia  A  Diego  Velasquez," 
eto.  Op.  cit.  p.  350.  Alaminos  had  evidently  confused  in  his 
memory  the  fourth  voyage  of  Columbus  with  the  second.  It  was 
in  the  second  that  Columbus  felt  obliged  to  turn  back,  and  it  is 
clear  that  in  the  fourth  he  had  no  intention  of  going  west  of  Cap* 
Honduras. 


242  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

that  island  had  found  its  way  across  the  one  hun- 
dred miles  of  salt  water  between  Cape  San  Anto- 
nio and  Cape  Catoche.  At  several  places  along 
the  shore  the  natives  are  said  to  have  shouted 
"  Castilians !  Castilians !  "  At  Catoche  their  de- 
meanour was  at  first  friendly,  but  after  the  Span- 
iards had  come  ashore  they  drew  them  into  an 
ambush  and  attacked  them,  killing  two  and  wound- 
ing several.  The  Spaniards  then  reembarked, 
taking  with  them  a  couple  of  young  captives  whom 
they  trained  as  interpreters.  After  a  fortnight's 
sail  along  the  coast  they  arrived  at  Campeehe. 
Here  the  Maya  natives  invited  them  into  the  town, 
and  showed  them  their  huge  pueblo  fortresses  and 
their  stone  temples,  on  the  walls  of  which  were 
sculptured  enormous  serpents,  while  the  altars 
dripped  fresh  blood.  "  We  were  amazed,"  says 
Bemal  Diaz,  ^^  at  the  sight  of  things  so  strange, 
as  we  watched  numbers  of  natives,  men  and  women, 
come  in  to  get  a  sight  of  us  with  smiling  and  care- 
less countenances."  ^  Presently,  however,  priests 
approaching  with  fragrant  censers  requested  the 
visitors  to  quit  the  country ;  and  they  deemed  it 
prudent  to  comply,  and  retired  to  their  ships.  Pro- 
ceeding as  far  as  Champoton,  the  Spaniards  were 
obliged  to  go  ashore  for  water  to  diink.  Then  the 
Indians  set  upon  them  in  overwhelming: 

Defeat  of  the  ^  ^ 

fiwuiiardnat     numbcrs   and   wofully   defeated   them, 

Gbunpoton.  ,  . 

slaying  more  than  half  their  number, 
and  wounding  nearly  all  the  rest.  The  wretched 
survivors  lost  no  time  in  getting  back  to  Cuba, 
where  Cordova  soon  died  of  his  wounds.     Worse 

^  Diaz,  Historia  verdadera,  cap.  iiL 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  243 

luck  they  could  hardly  have  had,  but  they  brought 
back  a  little  gold  and  some  carved  images  stolen 
from  a  temple,  and  their  story  incited  Velasquez 
to  prepare  a  new  expedition. 

Four  caravels  were  accordingly  made  ready  and 
manned  with  250  stout  soldiers.  The  chief  com- 
mand was  given  to  the  governor's  Grijftiy»»t  ex 
nephew,  Juan  de  Grijalva,  and  the  cap-  P«di»i^"»i"8. 
tains  of  two  of  the  ships  were  Pedro  de  Alvarado 
and  Francisco  de  Montejo.  Sailing  from  Santiago 
early  in  April,  1618,  they  landed  first  at  the 
island  of  Cozumel,  and  then  followed  the  Yucatan 
coast  till  they  reached  Champoton,  where  they 
came  to  blows  with  the  natives,  and  being  fully 
prepared  for  such  an  emergency  defeated  them. 
In  June  they  came  to  a  country  which  they  called 
Tabasco,  after  the  name  of  a  chief  ^  with  whom 
they  had  some  friendly  interviews  and  exchanged 
gifts.  It  was  a  few  days  later,  at  the  little  bay 
near  the  shore  of  which  stood  the  pueblo  of  Mic- 
tlan-Quauhtla,  that  they  were  boarded  by  the  tax- 
gatherer  Pinotl  who  carried  such  startling  inteUi- 
gence  of  them  to  Montezuma.  The  demeanour  of 
the  Nahua  people  in  this  neighbourhood  was  quite 
friendly ;  but  the  Spaniards  were  more  and  more 
struck  with  horror  at  the  ghastly  sights  they  saw  of 
human  heads  raised  aloft  on  poles,  human  bodies 
disembowelled,  and  grinning  idols  dripping  blood 
from  their  jaws.  On  St.  John's  day  they  stopped 
at  an  island,  the  name  of  which  they  understood 

^  The  Spaniarda  often  mistook  the  name  of  some  chief  for  a 
territorial  name,  as  for  example  Quarequa,  Pocorosa,  Bird,  etc., 
of  which  more  anon. 


244  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC4. 

to  be  Ulua,^  and  so  they  gave  it  the  name  now 
commonly  written  San  Juan  de  Ulloa.  Here  Al« 
varado  was  sent  back  to  Cuba  with  fifty  or  more 
sick  men,  to  report  what  had  been  done  and  get 
reinforcements  with  which  to  found  a  colony.  Gri- 
jalva  kept  on  with  the  other  three  ships,  as  far, 
perhaps,  as  the  riv^  P&nuco,  beyond  the  region 
of  pueblos  tributary  to  the  Aztecs.  By  this  time 
their  ships  were  getting  the  worse  for  wear,  and 
they  began  once  more  to  encounter  fierce  and  hos- 
tile Indians.  Accordingly  they  turned  back,  and 
retracing  their  course  arrived  in  Cuba  early  in 
November. 

The  ejSect  of  this  expedition  was  very  stimulat* 
ing.  A  quarter  of  a  dentury  had  elapsed  since  Co* 
lumbus's  first  voyage,  and  the  Spaniards  had  been 
Excitement  of  ^ctivc  cnough  in  many  directions,  but 
the  spoQiardA.  ,jjj^  lately  they  had  seen  no  indications 
of  that  Oriental  civilization  and  magnificence  which 
they  had  expected  to  find.  They  had  been  tossed 
on  weather-beaten  coasts,  and  had  wandered  mile 
after  mile  half -starved  through  tropical  forests,  for 
the  most  part  without  finding  anything  but  rude 
and  squalid  villages  inhabited  by  half -naked  bar- 
barians. Still  hope  had  not  deserted  them ;  they 
were  as  confident  as.  ever  that,  inasmuch  as  they 
were  in  Asia,  it  could  not  be  so  very  far  to  the 
dominions  of  the  Great  Khan.  Now  Grijalva^s 
tidings  seemed  to  justify  their  lingering  hope. 
Pinotl  and  other  Tndians  had  told  him  that  far  up 
in  that  country  dwelt  their  mighty  king  who  ruled 
over  many  cities  and  had  no  end  of  gold.     Of 

^  An  impeifeet  bearing  of  Cullma,  a  name  common  in  Mezieob 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  245 

course  this  must  be  the  Grreat  Khan,  and  the  goal 
which  Columbus  had  hoped  to  attain  must  now  be 
within  reach  I  The  youthful  Grijalva  was  flushed 
with  anticipations  of  coming  glory. 

No  sooner  had  he  arrived  in  Cuba,  however,  than 
he  was  taught  the  lesson  that  there  is  many  a  slip 
betwixt  the  cup  and  the  lip.  He  had  found  occa- 
sion to  censure  Alvarado,  and  that  captain,  nurs- 
ing his  spite  and  getting  home  some  time  before 
his  young  commander,  had  contrived  to  poison  the 
mind  of  his  uncle  the  governor.  So  Grijalva 
was  set  aside,  all  his  fine  hopes  turned  sick  with 
chagrin.  The  prize  was  not  for  him,  but  for  an- 
other young  man,  a  native  of  Estremadura,  who 
in  1504  had  come  over  to  the  Indies.  The  name 
of  this  knight^rrant,  now  in  his  thirty-fourth  year, 
bold  and  devout,  fertile  in  devices  and  unscrupu- 
lous, yet  perhaps  no  more  so  than  many  a  soldier 
whose  name  is  respected,  an  Achilles  for  bravery, 
an  Odysseus  for  craft  and  endurance,  u^nuu^^ 
was  Hernando  Cortes.  In  1511  he  had  c®'*^ 
served  with  distinction  under  Velasquez  in  the 
expedition  which  conquered  Cuba,  and  he  was  at 
this  time  alcalde  (chief  judge)  of  the  newly  founded 
town  of  Santiago  on  that  island.  He  now  per- 
suaded Velasquez  to  appoint  him  to  command  the 
important  expedition  fitted  out  in  the  autumn  of 
1518  for  operations  on  the  Mexican  mainland. 

Before  Cortes  started,  Velasquez  began  to  worry 
lest  he  might  prove  too  independent  a  spirit,  and 
he  twice  sent  messengers  after .  him  to  recall  him 
and  put  another  in  his  place.  Cortes  politely  dis- 
regarded the  messages,  thus  verifying  the  govern- 


246  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

or's  fears.  Early  in  Maroh,  1519,  lie  landed  at 
Tabasco,  found  the  natives  unfriendly,  defeated 
sxpeditioii  of  them  in  a  sharp  skirmish,  seized  a  fresh 
corte.,1619.     ^^^^  ^f  provisions,  and  proceeded  to 

San  Juan  de  UUoa,  whence  he  sent  messengers  to 
Montezimia  with  gifts  and  messages  as  from  his 
sovereign  Charles  V.  Presently  he  ascertained 
that  the  yoke  of  the  Aztec  confederacy  was  borne 
xmwillingly  by  many  tributary  towns  and  districts, 
and  this  was  one  of  the  mfdn  facts  that  enabled 
him  to  conquer  the  country.  At  first  Cortes  con- 
trived to  play  a  douUe  game,  encouraging  the 
tributary  towns  to  arrest  Mcmtezuma^s  tax-gath- 
erers, and  then  currying:  favour  with  these  officials 
by  quietiy  «leas^L  and  sending  them  with 
soft  words  to  Montezuma. 

It  was  now  desirable  to  make  a  quick,  bold 
stroke  and  enlist  all  his  followers  irrevocably  in 
the  enterprise.  Cortes  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
town  of  Vera  Cruz  (a  little  to  the  north  of  its 
Tb«  scuttling  pi^^seut  site),  and  a  municipal  govem- 
<A  tiM  ships,  ment  was  then  and  there  framed.  Cot^ 
tes  then  resigned  his  commission  from  Velasquez, 
and  was  at  once  reelected  captain-general  by  his 
municipaU^.  He  was  doing  p?::^ti.eLne 
thing  that  Balboa  had  been  wrongly  accused  of 
doing,  and  he  knew  well  that  the  alternative  before 
him  ¥ras  victory  or  the  headsman's  block.  He 
sent  his  flagship  to  Spain^  with  Montejo  and  a 
few  other  influential  and  devoted  friends*  to  gain 
the  ear  of  the  grave  young  king  who«  while  these 
things  were  going  on,  had  been  elected  to  the 
in^wrial  throne  of  Chari^nagne  and  the  Othoa. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  247 

TXheB,  with  a  strange  mixture  of  persuasion  and 
stealth,  he  had  his  ships  one  after  another  scut- 
tied  and  sunk.^  Nothing  was  left  but  to  maroh 
Mexico-Tenoehtitlan. 


^  It  is  often  carelessly  said  that  Cortes  burned  his  ships.  Threo 
or  four  were  at  first  secretly  scuttled,  and  there  was  more  or  less 
tJiscTOwion  as  to  whether  the  sinking  was  done  by  worms.  Then 
the  mariners  who  were  in  the  secret  reported  other  ships  unsea- 
'worthy.  Cortes*s  first  argument  was  that  it  would  not  be  worth 
'while  to  waste  time  in  trying  to  repair  such  extensire  damages ; 
then  he  advanced  to  the  position  that  perhaps  it  would  be  wise  to 
sink  all  that  were  left,  so  as  to  be  able  to  take  the  sailors  along 
cm  the  march  into  the  country.  All  were  then  scuttled  but  one. 
Preeeatly  some  of  the  malcontents  in  the  camp  discovered  ho# 
the  scuttling  had  been  done,  and  loudly  upbraided  Cortes.  He 
then  boldly  faced  them,  and  asked  for  whom  but  cowards  were 
fneans  of  retreat  necessary !  There  was  one  ship  left ;  1^  there 
were  any  craven-hearted  enough  to  wish  to  abandon  the  enter- 
pnse,  in  God^s  name  let  them  g^  at  once  and  in  that  ship.  Cortes 
irell  knew  what  chord  tp  touch  in  a  soldier's  heart.  As  the  com- 
plaints were  drowned  in  cheers,  he  went  on  and  suggested  that 
in— iirnch  as  that  last  ship  was  of  no  use  it  might  as  well  be  sunk 
likewise ;  which  was  forthwith  done.  See  Bemal  Diaz,  Hisiarki 
-^erdadera,  cap.  zzx.-zl. 

It  was  the  Sicilian  general  Ag^thokles  who  burned  his  shipe 
when  he  invaded  the  territory  of  Carthage  in  310  b.  c,  and  it  is 
interesting  to  compare  the  graphic  description  of  Diodorus  Sioulns 
Oib.  XX.  cap.  7)  with  that  of  Bemal  Diaz.  The  characteristics  of 
the  two  commanders  and  the  two  different  ages  are  worth  noting. 
>Af ter  crossing  the  Mediterranean,  despite  some  real  danger  from 
CJarthaginian  cruisers  of  superior  strength  and  much  fancied 
danger  from  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun,  Agathokles  determined  to 
destroy  his  ships,  since  guarding  them  would  detain  a  part  of  his 
^orce,  while  in  the  event  of  his  defeat  they  would  not  avail  to 
save  him  from  the  Carthaginian  fleet.  So  he  gathered  his  array 
'^ogedier  and  performed  the  customary  sacrifices  to  the  patron 
goddesses,  Demeter  and  Persephone.  The  auspices  turned  out  to 
\ie  favourable.  Then  he  told  the  soldiers  that  in  an  anxious  roo- 
vxient  upon  the  water  he  had  vowed,  if  these  g^desses  should 
conduct  him  safely  to  the  African  sbore,  to  mi^  a  buxnt-offef 


248  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

A  wonderful  marcli !  At  one  point  (Iztacmbc- 
titlan)  they  came  upon  a  valley  where  "  for  four 
successive  leagues  there  was  a  continuous  line  of 
houses,  and  the  Lord  of  the  valley,"  we  are  told, 
^'  lived  in  a  fortress  such  as  was  not  to  be  found  in 
the  half  of  Spain,  surrounded  by  walls  and  bar- 
bicans and  moats."  What  was  the  force  with 
The  SnuiiBh  ^^^h  our  kuight-crrant  ventured  into 
force.  gu^jjj  a  country?    It  consisted  of  450 

Spaniards,  many  of  them  clad  in  mail,  half-a-dozen 
small  cannon,  and  fifteen  horses.  It  was  not 
enough  that  the  Spanish  soldier  of  that  day  was 
a  bull-dog  for  strength  and  courage,  or  that  his 
armour  was  proof  against  stone  arrows  and  lances, 
or  that  he  wielded  a  Toledo  blade  that  could  cut 
through  silken  cushions,  or  that  his  arquebus  and 
cannon  were  not  only  death-dealing  weapons  but 
objects  of  superstitious  awe.  More  potent  than 
all  else  together  were  those  frightful  monsters,  the 
horses.  Before  these  animals  men,  women,  and 
children  fled  like  sheep,  or  skulked  and  peeped 
from  behind  their  walls  in  an  ecstasy  of  terror. 
It  was  that  paralyzing,  blood-curdling  fear  of  the 
supernatural,  against  which  no  amount  of  physical 
bravery,  nothing  in  tiie  world  but  modem  know- 
ledge, is  of  the  slightest  avaiL  Perhaps  Sir  Arthur 
Helps  is  right  in  saying  that  it  was  the  horse  that 
ovei*threw  the  kingdoms  of  the  Aztecs   and  the 

ittg  of  his  fleet  in  Konoor  of  them.  The  peremptory  obUgation 
WM  at  onee  recog^iiied  by  the  &rmy.  Agathokles  with  a  torch 
•et  fire  to  his  flagBhip«  and  at  the  same  moment  aU  the  other 
ships  vere  set  biasing  by  their  own  captains,  amid  the  mormnred 
pmyers  of  the  soldiers  and  the  solemn  notes  of  the  trumpet.  The 
•Tsnt,  OB  the  whole,  jutificd  tibe  daring  policy  of  Agathoklea. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  249 

Incas.^  But  besides  all  this,  there  was  the  legend 
of  the  bright  Quetzalcoatl  coming  to  win  back 
his  ancient  kingdom  from  the  dark  Tezcatlipoca. 
And  strongly  cooperating  with  all  other  circum- 
stances was  the  readiness  of  the  hounded  and  crest- 
fallen tributary  pueblos  to  welcome  any  chance 
that  might  humble  the  Triple  Tyrant  of  the  Lake  t 
Surely,  if  ever  the  stars  in  their  courses  fought 
for  mortal  man,  that  man  was  Hernando  Cortes. 
This  luck,  however,  should  not  lessen  our  esti- 
mate of  his  genius,  for  never  was  man  more 
swift  and  sure  in  seizing  opportunities.  To  oiSer 
chances  to  a  dull-witted  man  is  like  casting  pearls 
before  swine. 

As  the  little  army  advanced,  its  progress  was 
heralded  by  awe-struck  couriers  who  made  pictures 
of  the  bearded  strangers  and  their  hoofed  mon- 
sters, and  sent  them,  with  queer  hieroglyphic  notes 
and  comments,  to  the  Great  Pueblo  on  the  lake. 
Cortes  soon  divined  the  situation,  albeit  imper- 
fectly, and  displayed  an  audacity  the  like 

i>       1  .   1  t  1     <»  AndMlty  of 

of  wnicn  was  perhaps  never  seen  before  corteaatcem- 
in  the  world.  At  the  town  of  Cempoala 
he  had  already  set  free  the  victims  held  for  sacri- 
fice, and  hurled  the  misshapen  idols  from  the  tem- 
ple. But  his  boldness  was  wedded  to  prudence, 
and  while  he  did  this  he  seized  the  persons  of  the 
principal  chiefs.  It  had  been  observed  in  Cuba 
and  other  islands  that  if  the  cacique  were  taken 
prisoner  the  Indians  seemed  unable  to  fight.  "  Un- 
der Indian  customs  the  prisoner  was  put  to  death, 

1  See  the  striking  passage  in  his  Spanish  Conquest^  yoL  liL 
p.  547. 


250  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

and,  if  a  principal  chief,  the  office  reverted  to  the 
tribe  and  was  at  once  filled."  But  when  the 
Spaniards  took  the  principal  chief  and  held  him 
captive,  he  '^  remained  alive  and  in  possession  of 
his  office,  so  that  it  could  not  be  filled.  The  ac- 
tion of  the  people  was  paralyzed  by  novel  circum- 
stances."^ Cortes  put  the  Cempoalans  in  this 
position,  and  learned  a  lesson  from  which  he  was 
soon  to  profit  on  a  tremendous  scale.  The  Cem- 
poalans were  overawed,  and  looked  on  in  silence 
while  their  temples  were  purified  and  crosses  set 
up.  By  one  of  the  many  strange  coincidences  in 
this  meeting  of  two  grades  of  culture  so  widely 
sundered,  the  cross  was  not  only  a  Christian  but 
also  a  Mexican  symbol.  It  was  one  of  the  em- 
blems of  Quetzalcoatl,  as  lord  of  the  four  cardinal 
points  and  the  four  winds  that  blow  therefrom. 
Doubtless,  therefore,  many  of  the  Cempoalans 
must  have  reasoned  that  the  overthrow  of  the 
idols  was  no  more  than  Tezcatlipoca  had  a  right 
to  expect  from  his  great  adversary.  Others  doubt- 
less fumed  with  rage,  but  when  it  came  to  venting 
their  wrath  in  some  kind  of  united  action  they 
knew  not  how  to  act  without  their  chiefs. 

It  was  on  the  16th  of  August,  1519,  that  Cortes 
started  from  Cempoala  on  his  march  toward  the 
city  of  Mexico.  His  route  lay  past  Xicochimalco 
and  Teoxihuacan  to  Texotia,  and  thence  to  Xoco- 
tlan,^  a  town  described  as  having  thirteen  pyramid- 
temples,  whence  we  may  perhaps  infer  that  the 
people  were  grouped  in  thirteen  clans.     The  Span- 

^  MoT^g^,  Ancitfii  Sodety^  p.  211.  note. 

*  Th«  route  is  w«ll  descril>ed  in  Bancroft's  Mexico^  chap.  ziL 


» 


1,^  y     = 


252  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

iards  had  now  climbed  to  the  plateau  of  Anahuac, 
The  spaniardB  "^o^e  than  7,000  feet  above  the  level  of 
«Su^Sk5o-  ^®  ^^^'  -^*  Xocotlan  fifty  men  were 
^^  sacrificed  to  them  as  to  deities,  and  cakes 

dipped  in  the  blood  of  the  victuns  were  offered 
them  to  eat.^  From  this  horrible  place  they  passed 
on  to  Iztacmixtidan,  whence  after  a  halt  of  three 
days  they  marched  upon  Tlascala.  This  powerful 
pueblo,  as  we  have  seen,  had  successfully  withstood 
all  attempts  of  the  Aztecs  to  extort  tribute  from 
it.  When  the  fierce  Tlascalans  learned  that  the 
strangers  were  approaching  their  town,  they  had 
an  interesting  discussion  in  their  tribal  council 
which  reveals  to  us  the  opposing  views  that  were 
probably  entertained  in  every  pueblo  in  the  land. 
One  chieftain,  Maxixcatzin,  argued  that  the  Span- 
iards were  probably  gods  whom  it  was  idle  to 
think  of  resisting.  Another  chieftain,  Xicotencatl,^ 
thought  that  this  view  was  at  least  doubtful  enough 
to  be  worth  testing ;  the  strangers  assumed  odious 
airs  of  authority,  but  they  were  a  mere  handful 
in  number,  and  the  men  of  Tlascala  were  invin- 
cible ;  by  way  of  experiment,  at  aU  events,  it  was 
worth  while  to  fight.  After  much  debate  this  coun- 
sel  prevaUed,  and  the  tawny  warriors  went  forth 
against  the  Spaniards.     Bemal  Diaz  says  there 

^  Gomara,  08 ;  Danm,  ii.  401-408 ;  Sahagan,  14 ;  Acosta,  518 ; 
Torquemada,  i.  417 ;  cited  in  Bancroft,  cp.  cit.  L  196.  See  also 
Clavig^ro,  Storia  antica  del  Messico^  ii  69 ;  Miiller,  Geschichte  der 
Amerikanischen  Urrdigionen,  p.  631. 

^  Mr.  Bandolier  regards  Maxixcatzin  and  Xicotencatl  as  shar- 
ing the  office  of  head  war-chief  ^  an  instance  of  dnal  executiye 
quite  common  in  ancient  America.     Ptahody  Museum  BeporUt  ii 

eeo. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  253 

were  50,000  of  them  in  the  field,  and  later  writers 
have  swelled  the  number  to  150,000.  In  study- 
ing the  conquest  of  Mexico  one  soon  gets  used  to 
this  sort  of  thing.  Too  many  of  its  historians  be- 
long to  a  school  of  which  Falstaff ,  with  Battle  be- 
his  men  in  buckram,  was  the  founder.  ^^^JlT 
Bemal  Diaz  was  an  eye-witness ;  he  took  ^'^'»'»«**'^ 
part  in  the  battle,  and,  if  we  strike  off  about  one 
cipher  from  his  figure  and  make  it  5,000,  we  shall 
get  somewhere  within  the  bounds  of  credibility, 
and  the  odds  will  remain  sufficiently  great  to  attest 
the  valour  of  the  Spaniards.  The  Tlascalan  army 
was  apparently  marshalled  in  phratries,  one  of 
them  from  the  allied  pueblo  of  Huexotadnco.  They 
were  distinguished  by  the  colours  of  their  war- 
paint. They  wore  quilted  cotton  doublets,  and 
carried  leather  shields  stretched  upon  a  framework 
of  bamboo  and  decorated  with  feathers.  Upon 
their  heads  they  wore  helmets  of  stout  leather 
fashioned  and  trimmed  with  feather-work  so  as  to 
look  like  heads  of  snakes  or  jaguars,  and  the 
chiefs  were  distinguished  by  gorgeous  plumes. 
Their  weapons  were  long  bows,  arrows  tipped  with 
obsidian,  copper-pointed  lances,  slings,  javelins, 
and  heavy  wooden  swords  with  sharp  blades  of 
obsidian  inserted  in  both  edges.^  With  this  bar- 
baric host  the  Spaniards  had  two  days  of  desultory 
fighting.  By  the  end  of  that  time  a  great  many 
Tlascalans  had  been  killed ;  a  few  Spaniards  had 
been  wounded,  and  one  or  two  had  been  killed,^  but 

^  Bancroft,  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States^  vol.  ii.  pp.  406- 
410. 
^  The  ing^ned  Mexican  crutom  of  trying  to  capture  their 


254  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

they  were  so  carefuUj  buried  by  their  comrades 
that  the  enemy  did  not  learn  the  fact,  and  it  was 
sagely  concluded  that  the  white  men  must  be  more 
than  mortal. 

The  sturdy  Xicotencatl,  however,  was  not  will- 
ing to  give  up  the  case  without  one  more  trial. 
He  took  coimsel  with  soothsayers,  and  the  opinion 
was  suggested  that  the  strangers,  as  solar  deities, 
were  very  probably  dependent  for  their  strength, 
and  perhaps  for  their  invulnerability,  upon  direct 
contact  with  the  solar  radiance.  Possibly  in  the 
nieht-time  they  mieht  turn  out  to  be 

Scheme  of  the  i         *        ii  •  t 

TiaMaUn  mortal.  At  all  events  it  was  worth  try- 
ing,  and  Xicotencatl  made  up  his  mind 
to  act  on  his  own  account  that  very  night.  In 
making  his  preparations  for  an  attack  he  sent  a 
small  party  of  spies  to  the  Spanish  camp  with 
presents  and  soft  words.  They  were  to  watch 
things  keenly,  and  bring  back  such  information  as 
might  prove  useful.  Some  were  to  stay  in  the 
camp  and  at  an  appointed  signal  set  fire  to  it. 
Cortes  received  these  Indians  graciously,  but  pres- 
ently their  behaviour  excited  suspicion,  and  to 
their  utter  terror  and  confusion  they  suddenly 
found  themselves  arrested  and  charged  with  treack 
ery  I  There  was  no  use  in  lying  to  superhuman 
beings  who  clearly  possessed  the  godlike  power  of 

enemies  for  sacrifice^  infitead  of  slaying  them  on  the  field,  is  cited 
by  Bandolier  as  a  reason  why  more  Spaniards  did  not  g^et  killed 
in  these  straggling  fights.  *^  ThuSf  for  the  sake  of  capturing  a 
single  horseman,  they  recklessly  sacrificed  numbers  of  their  own, 
when  they  thought  to  be  able  to  surround  him,  and  cut  him  off 
from  his  corps  or  detachment.  The  custom  was  general  among 
the  NahuAtlac  tribes.''    Peabody  Museum  Reports^  ii.  128. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  265 

reading  the  secret  thoughts  of  men ;  so  the  spies, 
or  some  of  them,  made  confession.    Thus  informed 
of  the  situation,  Cortes  waited  tiU  nightfaU,  and 
then  cut  off  the  thumbs  of  the  spies  and  sent  them 
to  tell  Xicotencatl  that  he  would  find  the  white 
man  as  invincible  by  night  as  by  day.^ 
Cortes  followed  the  messengers   at  no  triumph  of 
great  distance  with  a  party  of  horsemen ;  '^"'^ 
aud  while  the  Tlascalan  warriors  were  limp  with 
amazement  at  tiiis  penetration  of  their  design,  the 
party  charged  in  among  them  at  full  gallop,  scat- 
tering them  in  wildest  panic   and  cutting  them 
down  by  the  score.^ 

It  was  clear  tliat  nothing  was  to  be  gained 
by  opposing  these  children  of  the  sim.  AiiiMjc«b6- 
The  unfortunate  soothsayers  who  had  SSTmS****^ 
advised  the  night  attack  were  disem-  ®p"***^^ 
bowelled,  stewed  with  chile  pepper,  and  served  in 
a  ragout ;  and  the  Tlascalan  tribal  council,  taught 
wisdom  by  adversity,  decided  to  improve  the  situa- 
tion by  making  an  alliance  with  the  wielders  of 
thunder  and  lightning,  and  enlisting,  if  possible, 
their  resistless  strength  in  the  work  of  humbling 
Tlascala's  ancient  enemy.  Upon  the  people  of  the 
Aztec  Confederacy  these  events  made  a  most  pro- 
found impression.  They  freely  acknowledged  that 
beings  who  coidd  so  easily  defeat  the  Tlascalans 
must  be   more  than   human.     But  when   it  was 

^  '*  Y  lo8  einbi6  para  qne  dixessen  a  Xicotficatl  sn  capitan- 
general,  qne  lo  mismo  liaria  de  quantas  espias  pndiease  auer,  y 
qne  fuesse  cd  sn  exercito,  porqne  sierapre  conoceria  qne  los  Cas- 
tellanoA  eran  innencibles  de  dia  j  de  noche."  Herrera,  decad.  iL 
lib.  vi.  cap.  f^. 

^  Diaz,  Historia  verdaderOf  cap.  zlvii.-L 


256  THE  DI8C0VEET  OF  AMEEICA. 

learned  that  these  dreaded  strangers  had  entered 
into  friendly  alliance  with  the  ^^  republic  ^  of  Tlas- 
cala,^  and  were  now  leading  an  army  of  its  war- 
riors toward  Tenochtitlan,  we  can  well  imagine  the 
consternation  that  must  have  pervaded  the  streets 
of  that  great  pueblo. 

From  this  time  the  community  of  interests  kept 
the  Tlascalans  faithful  to  the  white  men  CTen  after 
the  illusion  as  to  their  supernatural  qualities  hcd 
died  away.  If  we  would  form  a  true  conception  of 
the  conquest  of  Mexico  by  a  handful  of  Spaniards, 
we  must  remember  that  Tlascala,  with  its  few 
allied  pueblos,  had  shown  itself  nearly  a  match  for 
the  Aztec  Confederacy  ;  and  the  advantage  of  this 
alliance  was  now  added  to  the  peculiar  combina- 
tion of  circumstances  that  made  the  Spaniards  so 
formidable. 

Affairs  having  duly  been  arranged  at  Tlascala, 
TrwMJhOTy  ftt  *^®  little  army,  now  followed  by  a  f ormi- 
Swre^iSfby*"  dablc  body  of  dusky  allies,  approached 
DoBa  Marin..  Cholula,  a  stroug  pucUo  allied  with  the 
Confederacy  and  especially  identified  with  the 
worship  of  Quetzalcoatl.^  The  town  was  not  only 
one  of  the  principal  markets  in  Mexico,  but  it  was 
held  in  much  reverence  for  its  religious  associa- 

^  It  18  cnrioiui  to  see  Tlascala  oommooly  mentioned  as  a  "  le- 
pablio ''  and  the  Azteo  Confederacy  as  an  **  empire/'  raled  by  an 
absolute  monaroh,  when  in  reality  the  supreme  power  in  both 
was  Tested  in  the  tribal  councils.  This  indicates  that  the  Azteo 
tlacoUecuhtU  had  acquired  higher  dignity  than  that  merely  of  head 
war-chief.  lie  had  joined  to  this  the  dignity  of  chief  priest,  as 
we  shall  see. 

*  There  is  an  excellent  account  of  Cholula  in  Bandolier*! 
Arckaulogical  Tour,  pp.  79-202. 


THE  COX  QUE  ST  OF  MEXICO.  257 

tions.    With  the  aid  and  approval  of  emissaries 
from  Tenochtitlan,  the  chiefs  of  Cholula  prepared 
an  ambuscade  for  the  Spaniards,  who  were  politely 
and  cordially  admitted  into  the  town  with  the  in- 
tention of  entrapping  them.      But  with  Cortes 
there  was  a  handsome  yoimg  Indian  woman  from 
Tabasco,  who  had  fallen  in  love  with  him  there 
and  remained  his  faithful  companion  through  all 
the  trials  of  the  conquest.    Her  aid  was  invaluable, 
since  to  a  thorough  familiarity  with  the  Nahuatl 
and  Maya  languages  she  soon  added  a  knowledge 
of  Spanish,  and  for  quick  wit  and  fertility  of  re- 
source she  was  like  Morgiana  in  the  story  of  the 
Forty  Thieves.     The  name  given  to  this  young 
woman  on   the  occasion  of  her  conversion  and 
baptism  was  Marina,  which  in  Nahuatl  mouths 
became  Malina,  and  oddly  enough  the  most  com- 
mon epithet  applied  to  Cortes,  by  Montezuma  and 
others,  was  Malintzin  or  Malinche,  ^^  lord  of  Ma- 
rina."    It  was  through  her  keenness  that  the  plot 
of  the  Cholultec  chiefs  was  discovered  and  f rus- 
trated.    Having  ascertained  the  full  extent  of  their 
plans,  Cortes  summoned  the  principal  chiefs  of 
Cholula  to  a  conference,  announced  his  intention 
of  starting  on  the  morrow  for  Tenochtitlan,  and 
with  an  air  of  innocent  trust  in  them,  he  asked 
them  to  furnish  him  with  an  additional  supply  of 
food  and  with  an  auxiliary  force  of  Cholulans.     In 
childish  glee  at  this  presumed  simplicity,  and  con- 
fident that  for  once  the  white  stranger  was  not 
omniscient,  the  chiefs  readily  promised  ^^  ^^^  ^^ 
the  men  and  provisions.     Several  three-  ««»^w«n*- 
year-old  babes  had  been  sacrificed  that  day,  and 


268  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

the  auspices  were  fayourable.  So  the  chiefs  spent 
the  night  in  arranging  their  coup  de  main  for  the 
next  morning,  while  Cortes  saw  that  his  cannon 
were  placed  in  suitable  positions  for  raking  the 
streets.  In  the  morning  a  throng  of  Cholulteo 
warriors  crowded  into  the  square  where  the  Span- 
iards were  quartered,  and  the  chiefs  felt  so  sure  of 
their  game  that  to  the  number  of  thirty  or  more 
they  accepted  an  invitation  to  meet  ^^  Malinche " 
in  private  and  receive  his  parting  blessing.  When 
they  were  assembled,  and  with  them  the  Azteo 
emissaries,  whom  Cortes  took  care  to  have  at 
hand,  they  heard  such  words  as  froze  them  with 
terror.  It  seems  that,  here  as  well  as  at  Tlascala, 
there  were  two  parties,  one  counselling  submission, 
the  other  resistance,  only  here  the  resistance  had 
assumed  the  form  of  treachery.  Having  been 
primed  by  Marina  with  full  and  accurate  informa- 
tion, Cortes  conveyed  to  the  astounded  chiefs  the 
secret  history  of  their  little  scheme,  and  informed 
them  that  they  were  his  prisoners,  but  he  knew 
how  to  separate  sheep  from  goats  and  only  the 
guilty  should  be  punished.  As  for  Montezuma, 
though  it  was  said  that  he  was  privy  to  the  Cho- 
lulan  plot,  Cortes  declared  himself  unwilling  to 
MMMcre  at  believe  such  a  slander  against  one  whom 
ho  had  always  understood  to  be  a  worthy 
prince.  It  was  his  policy  for  the  moment  to  soothe 
the  emissaries  from  Tenochtitlan  while  he  exhibited 
his  fiend-like  power.  We  can  dimly  imagine  the 
paralyzing  amazement  and  terror  as  the  chiefs  who 
had  counselled  submission  were  picked  out  and 
taken  aside.    At  this  moment  the  thunder  of  ar* 


TUE  COXQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  259 

'tillerY,  never  heard  before  in  Choliila,  burst  ui)on 
"the  ear.     Bloody  lanes  were  ploughed  through  the 
xnass  of  dusky  warriors  in  the  square,  hippocen- 
-taurs  clad  in  shining  brass  charged  in  among  them, 
smd  the  Tlascaltec  warriors,  who  had  been  en- 
<;amped  outside,  now  rushed  into  the  town  and 
Tjegan  a  general  massacre.     Several  hundred,  per- 
lliaps  some  thousands,  were   slain,  including  the 
liead  war-chief.    Of  the  captured  chiefs  a  few  were 
Hbumed  at  the  stake,  doubtless  as  a  warning  exam- 
ple for  Montezuma.     Cortes  then  released  all  the 
caged  victims  fattening  for  sacrifice,  and  resumed 
his  march. 

From  Cholula  the  little  army  proceeded  to  Hue- 
xotzinco  and  thence  to  Amaquemecan,  where  they 
were  met  by  chiefs  from  Tlalmanalco,  inveighing 
against  the  tyranny  of  the  Aztecs  and  begging  for 
deliverance.  Passing  Tlalmanalco  and  Iztapala- 
tzinco,  the  Spaniards  went  on  to  Cuitlahuac,  situ- 
ated upon  the  causeway  leading  across  the  lake  of 
Chalco.  This  was  one  of  the  many  towns  in  the 
lately-found  Indies  which  reminded  the  Spaniards 
of  Venice ;  i.  e.  it  was  built  over  the  water,  with 
canals  for  streets.  Its  floating  gardens  and  its 
houses  glistening  in  their  stucco  of  white  gypsum 
delighted  the  eyes  of  the  Spaniards.  Crossing  the 
causeway  they  marched  on  to  Iztapalapan,  where 
they  arrived  on  the  7th  of  November,  ^i^  sight  of 
1519,  and  saw  before  them  the  Queen  Tenochuuan. 
of  Pueblos.  "  And  when  we  beheld,"  says  Bemal 
Diaz,  "  so  many  cities  and  towns  rising  up  from 
ilie  water,  and  other  populous  places  situated  on 
Ibe  terra  firma,  and  that  causeway,  straight  as  a 


260 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 


level,  which  went  into  Mexico,  we  remained  as- 
tonished, and  said  to  one  another  that  it  appeared 
like  the  enchanted  castles  which  they  tell  of  in  the 
book  of  Amadis,  by  reason  of  the  great  towers, 
temples,  and  edifices  which   there  were   in  the 


water,  and  all  of  them  work  of  masonry.  Some 
of  our  soldiers  asked  if  this  that  they  saw  was  not 
a  thing  in  a  dream;  ' 

It  may  well  be  called  the  most  romantic  moment 
in  all  history^  this  moment  when  European  eyes 

UiMon'a  verdadera^  oa{>.  IzzxriL 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  261 

first  rested  upon  that  city  of  wonders,  the  chief 
ornament  of  a  stage  of  social  evolution 
two  full  ethnical  periods  behind  their  mantio  mo- 
own.  To  say  that  it  was  like  stepping 
back  across  the  centuries  to  visit  the  Nineveh  of 
Sennacherib  or  hundred-gated  Thebes  is  but  in- 
adequately to  depict  the  situation,  for  it  was  a 
longer  step  than  that.  Such  chances  do  not  come 
twice  to  mankind,  for  when  two  grades  of  culture 
80  widely  severed  are  brought  into  contact,  the 
stronger  is  apt  to  blight  and  crush  the  weaker 
where  it  does  not  amend  and  transform  it.  In 
spite  of  its  foul  abominations,  one  sometimes  feels 
that  one  would  like  to  recall  that  extinct  state 
of  society  in  order  to  study  it.  The  devoted  lover 
of  history,  who  ransacks  all  sciences  for  aid  to- 
ward understanding  the  course  of  human  events, 
who  knows  in  what  unexpected  ways  one  stage  of 
progress  often  illustrates  other  stages,  will  some- 
times wish  it  were  possible  to  resuscitate,  even 
tor  one  brief  year,  the  vanished  City  of  the  Cac- 
tus Bock.  Could  such  a  work  of  enchantment 
be  performed,  however,  our  first  feeling  would 
doubtless  be  one  of  ineffable  horror  and  disgust, 
like  that  of  the  knight  in  the  old  English  bal- 
lad, who  folding  in  his  arms  a  damsel  of  radiant 
beauty  finds  himself  in  the  embrace  of  a  loathsome 
fiend. 

But  inasmuch  as  the  days  of  magic  are  long 
since  past,  and  the  ointment  of  the  wise  dervise, 
that  enabled  one  to  see  so  many  rich  and  buried 
secrets,  has  forever  lost  its  virtues,  the  task  for 
the  modem  student  is  simply  the  prosaic  one  of 


262  THE  DISCOVEBT  OF  AMERICA. 

setting  down  such  few  details  as  can  be  gathered 
from  the  Spanish  narratives  ^  and  sifted  in  view  of 
what  little  we  know  about  such  points  as  the  Span- 
iards were  liable  to  misinterpret.  A  few  such 
details  will  help  us  to  understand  the  way  in  which 
this  archaic  phase  of  human  development  was  so 
abruptly  cut  short 

The  city  of  Mexico  stood  in  a  salt  lake,  and  was 
approached  by  three  causeways  of  solid  masonry, 
each,  as  the  Spanish  soldiers  said,  two  lances  in 
breadth,  which  might  mean  from  twenty  to  thirty 
feet.  Being  from  four  to  five  miles  in  length,  and 
assailable  on  both  sides  by  the  canoes  of  the  city's 
defenders,  they  were  very  dangerous  avenues  for 
an  enemy,  whether  advancing  or  retreating.     Near 

ThecauM-  *^®  ^^^y  ^^^^  causcways  were  inter- 
^y>-  rupted  by  wooden  drawbridges.     Then 

they  were  continued  into  the  city  as  main  thorough- 
fares, and  met  in  the  great  square  where  the  tem- 
ple stood.     The  city  was  also  connected  with  the 

^  My  authorities  for  the  description  of  Tenoohtitlan  are  Cortes, 
Cartas  y  relaciones  al  emperador  Carlos  V.,  Paris,  1866 ;  Bemal 
Dial,  Historia  verdadera^  Madrid,  1632  ;  Icazbalceta,  CoUceion  de 
documentosy  etc.,  Mexico,  1858-66 ;  Relatione  fatta  per  un  gentiV 
huomo  dd  Signer  Fernando  Cortese,  apud  Ramnsio,  Navigationi  et 
Viaggi^  Venice,  1556;  Tezozomoc,  Histoire  de  MexiquA,  Paris, 
1853;  Ixtlilxochitl,  Relaciones,  apud  Kingsborongh^s  Mexican 
AntiquitieSy  London,  1831-48,  vol.  ix. ;  Sahagnn,  Historia  general 
de  las  cosas  de  Nueva  Espana,  Mexico,  1820;  Torqnemada, 
Monarquia  indiana^  Madrid,  1723;  Clarig^ero,  Storia  antica  del 
Messicoy  Cesena,  1780 ;  Oriedo,  Historia  general  y  natural  de  las 
Indias^  Madrid.  1851-55  ;  Gomara,  Historia  de  Mexico,  Antwerp, 
1554 ;  Herrera,  Historia  general  de  los  hechos  de  los  Castellanos 
etc,  Madrid,  1601 ;  Veytia,  Historia  antigua  de  Mejico,  Mexico 
1836 ;  Vetancnrt,  Teatro  mexicano,  Mexico,  1870. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO,  263 

mainland  by  an  aqueduct  in  solid  masonry  leading 
down  from  Chepultepec.  The  streets  might  have 
reminded  one  of  Venice,  in  so  far  as  some  were 
canals  alive  with  canoes,  while  others  were  dry 
footpaths  paved  with  hard  cement,  and  the  foot- 
ways often  crossed  the  canals  on  bridges.  These 
paths  and  canals  ran  between  inunense  houses  of 
red  stone,  many  of  them  coated  with  a  hard  white 
stucco.   The  houses  enclosed  ereat  court- 

-  The  hoases. 

yards,  and  vast  as  were  the  spaces 
covered  by  them  there  was  seldom  a  third  story. 
The  low  flat  roofs,  often  covered  with  flower-gar- 
dens, were  protected  by  stone  parapets  with  small 
towers  at  intervals,  so  that  every  house  was  a  for- 
tress. The  effect  must  have  been  extremely  pic- 
turesque. Military  precautions  were  everywhere 
visible.  The  bridges  across  the  canals  could  be 
drawn  up  at  a  moment's  notice.  The  windows 
were  mere  loop-holes,  and  they  as  well  as  the  door- 
ways were  open.  The  entrance  to  the  house  coidd 
be  barricaded,  but  doors  had  not  been  invented. 
Sometimes  a  kind  of  bamboo  screen  was  hung  in 
the  doorway  and  secured  by  a  cross-bar;  some- 
times, especially  in  interior  doorways,  there  were 
hangings  of  cotton  or  feather-work.^ 

^  The  portiere  is  much  more  ancient  than  the  door,  and  goes 
back  at  least  as  far  as  the  lower  period  of  barbarism ;  as  e.  g.  the 
Mandan  buffalo  robe  above  mentioned,  vol.  i.  p.  81.  The  Greeks 
in  the  upper  period  of  barbarism  had  true  doors  with  hinges  and 
latches.  One  of  the  cosiest  pictures  in  the  delicious  Odyssey  is 
that  of  the  old  nurse  Eurykleia  showing  Telemachus  to  his  cham- 
ber, when  leaving  him  tucked  under  the  woollen  rug  she  goes  out, 
and  closes  the  door  with  its  silver  ring  and  fastens  the  latch  with 
a  thong :  — 

i'i^tv  Si  (hipoK  BaXafiov  mixa  ttoit^toio, 
i^tro  8'  iv  K4Krp.f,  fioKajthy  S'  €kSw€  xtrwt'a* 


264  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

The  number  of  the  houses  and  of  their  ooen^ 
pants  has  been  the  subject  of  curious  misappre- 
hensions. The  Licentiate  Zuazo,  a  scholarly  and 
careful  man  whom  Cortes  left  in  charge  of  the 
city  in  1524,  and  who  ought  to  be  good  authority, 
said  that  there  were  60,000  vecinos.^  As  I  have 
before  observed,^  this  Spanish  word  may  mean 
either  ''  inhabitants  "  or  ^'  householders."  The  lat- 
ter interpretation  was  given  to  it  by  Gromara  and 
Peter  Martyr,^  and  has  been  generally  adopted; 
but  as  nobody  has  given  the  circumference  of  the 
city  as  more  than  four  leagues,  and  as  it  was  in 
all  probability  less  than  that,^  there  would  not  have 
begun  to  be  room  enough  for  60,000  of  these 
Tbepopnia-  hugc  houscs,  aloug  with  the  space  oo- 
*'^  cupied  by  canals  and  open  squares,  tem- 

pies  with  their  p^ds,  and  ^els  between 
the  houses.^    The  book  of  one  of  Cortes's  oom- 

KoX  rbif  piiy  ypaiiis  nvKifmidat  Ifi/iaXc  x<p<r6r. 
^  fih'  thy  vrv^cura  xai  doic^viura  xirStyOf 
vutrtrdX^AyKptiAdiraan  irapd  rpirtnU  Acx^iTViry 
fifi  p'  ifinf  CK  OaXifU>u>t  Bvpi^v  6*  iwip/yvin  Mpfirg 
Apyvp^f  iTTt  6i  icAi}td*  irdvwratv  Uidati. 

fioi$\rut  ^pta\y  i^otv  6S6¥  ri^  vi^paJB^  *A^in|. 

Odyuey^  L  4361 

M.  Chamay,  in  his  investigations  at  Uxmal,  found  '*  fonr  liogv  or 
stone  hooks  inside  the  doorways  near  the  top,  from  which  it  is 
easy  to  conjecture  that  a  wooden  hoard  was  placed  inside  against 
the  opening,  and  kept  in  place  hy  two  transversal 'ban  enteitqg 
the  stone  hooks.*'    Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  896. 

^  Carta  de  Licenciado  ZuazOj  MSw,  apud  Prescott,  Congrueti  ^ 
Mexico^  hk.  iv.  chap.  i. 

^  See  ahovCf  vol.  L  p.  96. 

*  Gomara,  Crdnica  de  la  Nueva  JSi^aHa,  Sarag^oasa,  1554,  oafk 
IzzviiL  ;  Martyr,  De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  y.  cap.  iii. 

^  Bandolier,  Archaeological  Tour,  p.  50. 

*  '*  Nearly  aU  the  old  authors  describe  the  public  buildings  ai 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  265 

panions,  known  as  the  Anonymous  Conqueror, 
survives  only  in  an  Italian  translation,  and  this 
has  60,000  hahitatori^  which  can  mean  nothing 

smromided  by  pleaanre-groands  or  ornamental  gardens.  It  is 
yvrj  striking'  that,  the  pueblo  having  been  founded  in  1825,  and 
nearly  a  century  having  been  spent  in  adding  sufficient  artificial 
sod  to  the  originally  small  solid  expanse  settled,  the  Mexicans 
eould  have  been  ready  so  soon  to  establish  purely  decorative 
parks  within  au  area,  every  inch  of  which  was  valuable  to  them 
for  snbsisteiice  alone  1  "  Bandelier,  in  Peabody  Museum  Reports, 
ToL  iL  p.  422.  That  the  corn-growers  of  Tenochtitlan  were 
cramped  for  room  is  plain  from  the  fact  that  they  constructed 
''floating  gardens,*'  or  rafts  covered  with  black  loam  which  were 
moored  at  various  points  in  the  shallow  lake.  These  artificial 
gardens  {chinampas)  were  usually  rectangular  in  shape  and  from 
Uiirty  to  fifty  yards  in  length ;  maize,  beans,  tomatoes,  and  other 
vegetables  were  raised  in  them.  See  Torquemada,  Monarqula 
indictna,  tarn,  ii.  p.  483 ;  Acosta,  Historia  de  las  IndiaSy  p.  472 ; 
Clavigero,  Storia  di  Messico,  tom.  ii.  p.  152.  This  practice  indi- 
cates that  there  was  no  superfluous  space  in  the  city.  Never- 
theless the  testimony  of  **  nearly  all  the  old  authors,"  that  ex- 
tensive flower  gardens  were  to  be  seen,  is  not  to  be  lightly 
rejeeted.  Flowers  were  used  in  many  of  the  religious  festivals, 
and  there  is  abundant  evidence,  moreover,  that  the  Mexicans 
were  very  fond  of  them.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  perpetual 
reference  to  flowers  in  old  Mexican  poems:  —  ''They  led  me 
within  a  vaUey  to  a  fertile  spot,  a  flowery  spot,  where  the  dew 
spread  out  in  glittering  splendour,  where  I  saw  varioos  lovely 
fragrant  flowers,  lovely  odorous  flowers,  clothed  with  the  dew, 
scattered  around  in  rainbow  glory ;  there  they  said  to  me,'  Pluck 
tbe  flowers,  whichever  thou  wishest,  mayest  thou  the  singer  be 
^ladf  and  give  them  to  thy  friends,  to  the  chiefs,  that  they  may 
xejoioe  on  the  earth.'  So  I  gathered  in  the  folds  of  my  g^arment 
^e  various  fragrant  flowers,  delicate  scented,  delicious,"  etc. 
JBrinton,  Ancient  Nahuatl  Poetry,  p.  57.  Of  the  twenty-seven 
amcient  Mexican  songs  in  this  interesting  collection,  there  is 
iBcaroely  one  that  does  not  abound  with  ecstatic  allusions  to  flow- 
ers: — "  The  delicious  breath  of  the  dewy  flowers  is  in  oar  homes 
in  Chiapas;"  "my  soul  was  drunken  with  the  flowers;"  ''let 
voe  gather  the  intoxicating  flowers,  many  coloured,  varied  in 
baa,"  etc. 


266  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMEBWA. 

but  inliabitants.^  Taking  60,000  as  the  popula- 
tion, which  seems  a  reasonable  figure,  the  number 
of  conmiunal  houses  can  han^lj  have  exceeded 
800,  as  the  number  of  persons  in  a  house  can 
hardly  have  averaged  less  than  200.  We  have 
already,  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  work,  seen 
how  the  organization  of  the  Aztec  tribe  in  four 
The  four  phratrfcs  divided  the  city  into  four 
"'■'^^  quarters,  each  with  its  curial  temple 

and  peculiar  ceremonies.  It  reminds  one  of  the 
threefold  division  of  Home  by  tribes  at  the  time 
when  the  Bamnes  occupied  the  Palatine  hill,  while 
the  Tities  lived  on  the  Quirinal,  and  the  Luoeres 
on  the  Esquiline.^  The  communal  houses,  as 
Eichard  Eden  has  it,  were  ^^palaices  of  maruel- 
ous  bygnes,  and  curiously  buylded  with  many 
pleasaunt  diuises."  Upon  the  front  of  each  was 
sculptured  the  totem  or  beast-symbol  of  the  clan 
to  which  it  belonged,  that  upon  the  one  in  which 
Montezuma  received  the  strangers  being  an  eagle 
with  a  wildcat  (ocdoti)  grasped  in  its  beak.  It 
was  customary  to  carve  upon  the  jambs,  on  either 
side  of  the  doorway,  enormous  serpents  with  gap- 
ing mouths. 

The  dress  of  the  people  was  of  cotton,  the  men 

^  Rdatione  fatta  per  ten  pvnftT  huomo  del  Signor  remands 
Cortese,  apud  Ramnsio,  Navigatumi  et  Viaggij  Venxoe,  1550,  torn, 
ill.  fol.  309.  Mr.  Morgan  (Ancient  Society,  p.  195)  thinks  ilie 
nnmbor  of  inhabitants  could  not  have  exceeded  30,000,  but  I  lee 
no  reason  for  doubting  the  statements  of  Zuazo  and  the  Anonj- 
mous  Conqueror. 

^  Hatelnlco  constituted  a  fifth  quarter,  for  the  Tiatelnlcani, 
who  had  been  conquered  in  1473,  deprived  of  tribal  rights,  and 
partially  re-adopted ;  an  interesting  case,  for  which  see  Baoda- 
lier,  Feabodjf  Museum  BqtorUf  iL  593. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  267 

wearing  loose  cloaks  and  ample  fringed  sashes,  and 
the  women  long  robes  reaching  to  the 
ground.  These  cotton  garments  were 
often  elaborately  embroidered  and  dyed  with  the 
rich  scarlet  of  the  cochineaL  Capes  of  fur  or 
doublets  of  feather-work  were  worn  in  cold  weather. 
The  feet  were  protected  by  a  kind  of  sandal,  and 
the  head  by  a  white  cotton  hood.  The  hair  was 
ordinarily  worn  long,  and  a  deep  violet  hair-dye 
was  used  by  the  women.  Faces  were  sometimes 
smeared  with  red  or  yellow  ointment,  and  the  teeth 
stained  with  cochineal.  Gold  and  silver  bracelets 
and  anklets  and  rings  for  fingers,  ears,  and  nose 
were  worn  by  men  and  women. 

In  the  interior  of  the  houses  cedar  and  other 
fine  woods  were  used  for  partitions  and 

,  Intenon. 

ceilings.  The  chief  decorations  were 
the  mural  tapestries  woven  of  the  gorgeous  plum- 
age of  parrots,  pheasants,  cardinals,  and  humming- 
birds, and  one  purpose  of  the  many  aviaries  was 
to  furnish  such  feathers.  Except  a  few  small 
tables  and  stools,  there  was  not  much  furniture. 
Pahn-leaf  mats  piled  on  the  hard  cemented  floor 
served  as  beds,  and  sometimes  there  were  coverlets 
of  cotton  or  feather^work.  Kesinous  torches  were 
used  for  lights.  The  principal  meal  of  the  day 
was  served  on  low  tables,  the  people  sitting  on 
mats  or  cushions  in  long  rows  around  the  sides  of 
the  room,  with  their  backs  against  the  wall.  A 
lighted  brazier  stood  in  the  middle,  and  before 
tasting  the  food  each  person  threw  a  j^,^ 
morsel  into  the  brazier  as  an  offering 
to  the  fire-god.     The  commonest  meat  was  the 


I 


268  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

turkey,  a  bird  as  characteristic  of  Mexico  as  its 
cactuses.  The  name  of  this  fowl  preserves  a 
curious  illustration  of  the  mixture  of  truth  and 
error  which  had  led  to  the  discovery  of  America. 
When  it  was  first  introduced  into  European  barn- 
yards in  1530,  people  named  it  on  the  theory  that 
it  was  an  Asiatic  fowl.  The  Germans  for  a  whUe 
called  it  Calecutische  hahn  or  Calcutta  cock ;  the 
French  still  call  it  dinde^  which  at  first  was  poulet 
6!Inde  or  India  fowl;  and  the  English  called  it 
the  Turkey  fowl ;  but  the  Oriental  country  which 
it  came  from  was  really  Mexico,  many  thousand 
miles  east  of  Asia. 

Cookery  had  made  some  progress  among  the 
Aztecs.  Indian  meal  beaten  up  with  eggs  was 
baked  in  loaves,  and  there  were  cakes  resembling 
the  modem  tortilla.  Then  there  was  the  tamale^ 
a  kind  of  pie  of  meat  and  vegetables  with  a  cover- 
ing of  Indian  meal.  Fresh  fish  were  abundant 
There  were  various  ragouts  intensely  hot  with 
_  tabasco  and  chile  sauce.     Bemal  Diaz 

DliliM. 

counted  thirty  such  dishes  npon  Mon- 
tezuma's table.  One  favourite  mess  ¥ras  frog 
spawn  and  stewed  ants  peppered  with  chile ;  an- 
other was  hmnan  flesh  cooked  in  like  manner. 
To  the  cannibalism  almost  universal  among  Ameri- 
can aborigines  the  people  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America  added  this  epicure's  touch.^ 

^  The  first  dish  mentioDed  by  Bernal  Diaz  seemed  to  Mr.  Pre»- 
oott  both  startling  and  apocryphal,  and  even  the  old  soldier  him- 
self, in  spite  of  the  cannibaUsm  he  had  witnessed,  was  alow  to 
admit  ihe  truth  of  what  he  was  told.  It  was  a  fricassee  of  yerj 
young  children :  —  "  E  oomo  por  passatiempo  oi  dezir,  que  le 
•olian  gnisar  oames  de  mnohachos  de  poca  edad,"  etc.  (HiiMtoria 
verdaderdj  cap.  xoL)    When  we  bear  in  mind,  howerer,  that  in 


THE  COXQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  269 

These  viands  were  kept  hot  by  means  of  chafing 
dishes  and  were  served  on  earthenware  bowls  or 

times  of  pnblic  excitement  and  peril  it  was  cnstomarj  to  obtain 
the  auspices  by  sacrificing  young  children,  and  that  the  flesh  of 
the  human  victim  seems  invariably  to  have  been  eaten,  there  is 
nothing  at  all  improbable  in  what  was  told  to  Diaz. 

Sir  Henry  Tnle,  in  one  of  his  learned  notes  to  Marco  Polo, 
mentions  instance  which  show  the  connection  between  cannibal- 
ism and  sundry  folk-lore  notions ;  e.  g.  "  after  an  execution  at 
Peking  certain  large  pith  baUs  are  steeped  in  the  blood,  and  under 
the  name  of  blood-bread  are  sold  as  a  medicine  for  consumption. 
It  is  only  to  the  blood  of  decapitated  criminals  that  any  such 
healing  power  is  attributed."  There  is  evidence  that  this  rem- 
nant of  cannibalism  is  not  yet  extinct  in  China.  Among  civilized 
peoples  in  modem  times  instances  of  cannibalism  have  been  for 
the  most  part  confined  to  shipwrecked  crews  in  the  last  stages  of 
famine.  Among  savages  and  barbarians  of  low  type,  famine  and 
folk-lore  probably  combine  to  support  the  custom.  When  the 
life  of  the  Jesuit  priest  Br^beuf  had  gone  out  amid  diabolical 
tormentBf  during  which  he  had  uttered  neither  cry  nor  groan,  an 
Iroquois  chief  tore  out  his  heart  and  devoured  it  for  the  very 
practical  purpose  of  acquiring  all  that  courage ;  on  the  other 
hand,  when  one  of  Mr.  Darwin's  party  asked  some  Fueg^ans  why 
they  did  not  eat  their  dogs  instead  of  their  grandmothers,  they 
replied,  probably  in  some  amusement  at  his  ignorance  of  sound 
economical  principles,  **Dog^es  catch  otters;  old  women  no!  '' 
In  medisBval  Europe  instances  of  cannibalism  can  be  traced  to 
scarcity  of  food,  and  among  the  Turks  there  seem  to  have  been 
cases  quite  sufficient  to  explain  the  fabulous  picture  of  King 
Richard,  in  the  presence  of  Saladin's  ambassadors,  dining  on  a 

eurried  Saracen's  head 

"  floden  full  hastQy 

With  powder  and  with  spysory, 

And  with  saffron  of  good  colour.** 

In  the  interior  of  northern  Sumatra  dwell  a  people  called  Battas, 
civilised  enough  to  use  a  phonetic  alphabet.  Their  ancient  can- 
nibalism is  now  restricted  by  law.  Tliree  classes  of  persons  are 
Gondenmed  to  be  eaten  ;  1.  c  commoner  g^uilty  of  adultery  with  a 
Rajah's  wife;  2.  enemies  taken  in  battle  outside  their  own  vil- 
lage ;  3.  traitors  and  spies,  in  default  of  a  ransom  equivalent  to 
dO  dollars  a  head.  See  Yule's  Marco  Polo,  voL  i.  pp.  275-277 ; 
yroL  iL  p.  231 ;  Parkman,  Jesuits  in  North  Ameriza,  p.  389;  Dar> 
win,  Voyage  of  the  Beagle,  London,  1870,  p.  214 


270  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

plates,  for  the  making  of  whieli  Cholula  was  espe^ 
cially  noted.  Chocolate,  flavoured  with 
yanilla,  was  the  ordinary  beverage. 
Food  was  handled  with  the  fingers,  but  bowls  of 
water  and  towels  were  brought  in  at  the  end  of  the 
meal,  and  the  next  thing  in  order  was  to  smoke 
tobacco  and  get  dnmk  with  pxdque^  the  ferment^ 
juice  of  the  century  plant.^ 

The  trade  impUed  by  this  sort  of  life  was  not 
done  in  shops.  There  were  no  shops  in  this  Aztec 
pueblo,  but  two  spacious  market-places,  with  fairs 
every  fifth  day.  There  were  displayed 
foods,  cloths,  and  ornaments;  tools, 
weapons,  and  building  materials  ;  mats  and  stools, 
dye-stuflfs  and  pottery.  Traffic  was  chiefly  bajrter, 
but  there  were  such  rudimentary  attempts  at  cur- 
rency as  quills  packed  with  gold-dust,  bags  of 
cocoa  seed,  and  queer  little  bits  of  copper  and  tin 
shaped  like  the  letter  T.  There  were  no  coins  op 
scales,  and  selling  by  weight  was  unknown.  In 
most  of  the  pueblos  traders  came  in  from  the  coun- 
try, or  from  other  towns,  with  their  wares  borne 
on  litters,  the  only  kind  of  wagon  or  carriage  in 
use ;  but  in  Mexico  such  conveyance  was  done 
chiefly  by  canoes.  In  the  market-place  there  were 
booths  where  criminals  were  tried  and  sentenced. 

^  The  maguey,  or  Agave  americanaj  sometimes  called  Ameri* 
can  aloe.  One  of  these  plants  in  a  gfreen  tnb  stood  on  either  side 
of  the  steps  leading  np  to  the  front  door  of  George  Napkins,  Esq., 
magistrate,  in  Ipswich  {Pickwick  Papers,  chap.  xzv.).  For  a  good 
account  of  the  many  and  great  uses  of  the  century-plant,  se* 
Bandelier,  Archaciogical  Tour,  p.  217 ;  Garcilaaso,  Comentariim 
reales,  pt.  i.  lib.  yiii.  cap.  13.  From  the  pulque,  a  kind  of  stzong 
brandy,  called  mescal^  is  distilled. 


THE  CONQUJSST  OF  MEXICO.  271 

Crime  was  frequent,  and  punishment  swift  and 
cruel.^  Another  feature  of  the  market-place  would 
seem  in  itself  to  epitomize  all  the  incongruous- 
ness  of  this  strange  Aztec  world.  A  barber's  shop 
seems  to  suggest  civilization  as  yividly  as  a  stone 
knife  suggests  barbarism.  In  the  Mexican  market 
there  were  booths  where  the  scanty  beards  of  the 
dusky  warriors  were  shaved  with  razors  of  obsid- 
ian!^ 

Close  by  the  principal  market  and  in  the  centre 
of  the  pueblo  was  the  great  enclosure  of  the  tem- 
ple, surrounded  by  stone  walls  eight  feet 
in  height,  and  entered  by  four  gateways,  ^*  *«™pi^ 
one  from  each  of  the  wards  or  quarters  above 
described.  Within  were  not  less  than  twenty  teo- 
callis^  or  truncated  pyramids,  the  tallest  of  which 
was  the  one  dedicated  to  the  war-god.  It  was 
ascended  by  stone  stairs  on  the  outside,  and  as  the 
Spaniards  counted  114  stairs  it  was  probably  not 
fiur  from  100  feet  in  height.  This  height  was 
divided  into  five  stages,  in  such  wise  that  a  man, 
after  ascending  the  first  flight  of  stairs,  would  walk 
on  a  flat  terrace  or  ledge  around  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  pyramid,  and  there  mount  the  second 
flight.  Thus  the  religious  processions  on  their  way 
to  th^  summit  would  wind  four  times  about  the 
pyramid,  greatly  enhancing  the  spectacular  effect. 
This  may  or  may  not  have  been  the  purpose  of 
the  arrangement;  it  was  at  any  rate  one  of  its 

^  The  snbject  of  crimes  and  punishments  in  ancient  Mexico  is 
well  summarized  by  Bandelier,  Peabody  Museum  Bepcrts,  voL  ii. 
pp.  623-633. 

^  Prescott,  Conquest  of  Mexico,  bk.  iv.  chap.  ii. ;  on  American 
beards,  of.  Brinton,  The  American  Baotf  p.  40. 


272  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

results.  On  the  summit  was  a  dreadful  block  of 
jasper,  convex  at  the  top,  so  that  when  the  human 
Hmnaii  neri-  ^ctlm  was  laid  upou  his  back  and  held 
^****  down,  the  breast  was  pushed  upward, 

ready  for  the  priest  to  make  one  deep  slashing  cut 
and  snatch  out  the  heart.  Near  the  sacrificial 
block  were  the  altars  and  sanctuaries  of  the  gods 
Tezcatlipoca,  Huitzilopochtli,  and  others,  with 
idols  as  hideous  as  their  names.^  On  these  altars 
smoked  fresh  human  hearts,  of  which  the  gods 
were  fond,  while  other  parts  of  the  bodies  were 
made  ready  for  the  kitchens  of  the  communal 
houses  below.  The  gods  were  voracious  as  wolves, 
and  the  victims  were  numerous.^     In  some  cases 

1  See  the  photograph  of  an  idol,  prohably  of  Huitzilopochtli, 
dag  up  in  1700  near  the  cathedral,  which  stands  on  the  site  of 
ihe  heathen  temple,  in  Bandelier,  ArchceologiccU  Towtj  p.  59. 

^  A  native  Mexican  author,  bom  in  1579,  says  that  at  the 
dedication  of  the  new  temple  to  Huitzilopochtli,  in  1487,  the 
number  of  victims  was  80,600  (Chimalpahin  Quauhtlehuanitzin, 
Sixieme  et  Septieme  Relations,  ed.  Simeon,  Paris,  1889,  p.  158).  I 
rather  think  that,  even  for  such  a  grand  occasion,  we  must  at 
least  out  off  a  cipher.  There  can  be  little  doubt,  however,  that 
within  this  whole  snake-worshipping  world  of  Mexico  and  Cen- 
tral America  there  were  many  thousand  victims  yearly,  —  men, 
women,  and  children.  A  very  complete  view,  with  many  of  the 
hideous  details,  is  given  in  Bancroft's  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific 
States f  vol.  ii.  pp.  302-341, 687-714 ;  see  also  Fergnsson,  Tree  and 
Serpent  Worship^  p.  40;  Stephens,  Central  America^  vol.  ii.p.  185. 
For  a  human  sacrifice  among  the  Pawnees,  somewhat  similar  to 
the  Mexican  custom,  see  Brinton,  The  American  Race^  p.  97.  For 
some  references  to  human  sacrifices  among  the  ancient  Germans 
and  Uuns,  see  Gibbon,  chap,  xxx.,  xxxiv. ;  Leo,  Vorlesungen  Uber 
die  Geschichte  des  Deuischen  V(dk€Sf  Halle,  1854,  bd.  i.  p.  96; 
Mone,  Geschichte  des  Ileidenthums,  Leipsic,  1822,  ii.  20, 130 :  Mil- 
man,  Latin  Christianity^  vol.  i.  p.  244 ;  among  the  Saxons,  Sido- 
nius  Apollinaris,  lib.  viii.  epist.  6 ;  among  the  CarthaginianSi 
Grote,  History  of  Greece^  voL  ziL  p.  565. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  273 

the  heart  was  thrust  into  the  mouth  of  the  idol 
with  a  golden  spoon,  in  others  its  lips  were  simply 
daubed  with  blood.  In  the  temple  a  great  quan- 
tity of  rattlesnakes,  kept  as  sacred  objects,  were 
fed  with  the  entrails  of  the  victims.  Other  parts 
of  the  body  were  given  to  the  menagerie  beasts, 
which  were  probably  also  kept  for  purposes  of 
religious  symbolism.  Blood  was  also  rubbed  in 
the  mouths  of  the  carved  serpents  upon  the  jambs 
and  lintels  of  the  houses.  The  walls  and  floor  of 
the  great  temple  were  clotted  with  blood  and 
shreds  of  human  flesh,  and  the  smell  was  like  that 
of  a  slaughter-house.  Just  outside  the  temple,  in 
front  of  the  broad  street  that  led  across  the  cause- 
way to  Tlacopan,  stood  the  tzompantli^  which  was 
**an  oblong  sloping  parallelogram  of  earth  and 
masonry,  one  hundred  and  fif ty-four  feet  [long] 
at  the  base,  ascended  by  thirty  steps,  on  each  of 
which  were  skulls.  Eoimd  the  summit  ThepUceof 
were  upwards  of  seventy  raised  poles  "^"^ 
about  four  feet  apart,  connected  by  numerous 
rows  of  cross-poles  passed  through  holes  in  the 
masts,  on  each  of  which  five  skulls  were  filed,  the 
sticks  being  passed  through  the  temples.  In  the 
centre  stood  two  towers,  or  columns,  made  of 
skulls  and  lime,  the  face  of  each  skull  being 
turned  outwards,  and  giving  a  horrible  appear- 
ance to  the  whole.  This  effect  was  heightened  by 
leaving  the  heads  of  distinguished  captives  in  their 
natural  state,  with  hair  and  skin  on.  As  the  skulls 
decayed,  or  fell  from  the  towers  or  poles,  they 
"Were  replaced  by  others,  so  that  no»  vacant  place 
TOs  left."  ^    If  Lucretius  could  have  visited  such  a 

^  Bancroft,  Native  Races,  etc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  586. 


274  THE  DiaCOVEnY  OF  AMERICA. 

tzompanUi  he  would  have  found  a  fit  text  for  his 
sermon  on  the  evils  of  religion. 

It  was  into  this  strange  city  that  on  the  8th  of 
November,  1519,  Montezuma,  making  the  best  of 
bitter  necessity,  welcomed  his  long-bearded  visitors 
Entry  of  ^^  timorous  politoncss,  and  assigned 
Jnto^fimwh-'  ^^^^^  *  great  house  near  the  temple  for 
titian.  their  lodgings.     This  house  is  supposed 

to  have  been  a  tecpan  or  tribal  council-house  built 
in  the  time  of  Axayacatl,  but  for  some  reason 
superseded  in  general  use  by  another  tecpan  since 
built  in  the  same  neighbourhood.  It  was  large 
enough  to  afford  ample  accommodation  for  the  450 
Spaniards  with  their  1,000  or  more  Tlascalan  allies, 
and  Cortes  forthwith  proceeded  quietly  to  station 
his  sentinels  along  the  parapet  and  to  place  his 
cannon  where  they  could  do  the  most  good.  After 
a  few  days  spent  in  accepting  the  hospitalities 
proffered  by  Montezimia  and  in  studying  the  city 
and  its  people,  the  Spanish  commander  went  to 
work  with  that  keen  and  deadly  sagacity  which 
never  failed  him.  Safety  required  that  some  step 
should  be  taken.  From  what  had  occurred  at 
Tlascala  and  Cholula,  it  is  fair  to  suppose  that  in 
Tenochtitlan  also  there  were  two  parties,  the  one 
inclined  to  submit  to  the  strangers  as  representa- 
tives of  Quetzalcoatl,  the  other  disposed  to  resist 
them  as  interlopers.  With  time  the  latter  counsels 
were  almost  certain  to  prevail.  Familiarity  with 
the  sight  of  the  strangers  about  the  streets  would 
deaden  the  xague  terror  which  their  presence  at 
first  inspired.    Ceasing  to  be  dreaded  as  gods  they 


A  dftngeroua 
situatu)ii. 


TUE  COX  QUEST  OF  MEXICO,  275 

would  not  cease  to  be  regarded  as  foreigners,  and 
to  the  warrior  of  Tenochtitlan  a  foreigner  was  in- 
teresting chiefly  as  meat,  —  for  his  idols,  his  rat- 
tlesnakes, and  himself.  Whether  as  strangers  or 
as  emissaries  of  Quetzalcoatl,  the  Spaniards  had 
already  incurred  the  deadly  hatred  of  those  obscene 
corrion-birds,  the  priests  of  the  black  Tezcatlipoca 
and  his  ally  Huitzilopochtli.  And  then  had  they  not 
brought  into  the  city  a  host  of  its  eternal  enemies 
the  Tlascalans  ?  How  would  the  Romans  of  Han- 
nibal's time  have  felt  and  acted  toward  anybody 
who  should  insolently  have  brought  into  Kome  a 
foree  of  Carthaginians?  It  ^  clear  enough  to 
Cortes  and  his  men  that  their  situation 
was  excessively  dangerous.  Sooner  or 
later  an  outbreak  was  to  be  expected,  and  when  it 
should  come  the  danger  was  inmieasurably  greater 
than  before  Tlascala  or  in  Cholula ;  for  if  the 
people  should  simply  decide  to  blockade  and  starve 
the  Spaniards,  there  would  be  no  escape  save  by 
a  desperate  fight  through  the  streets  and  along 
those  interminable  causeways.  Truly  no  hero  of 
fairyland  astray  in  an  ogre's  castle  was  ever  in 
worse  predicament  than  Cortes  and  his  little  army 
cooped  in  this  stronghold  of  cannibals  I  There 
was  no  ground  for  surprise  if  they  should  one 
and  all  get  dragged  to  the  top  of  the  great  pyra- 
mid on  their  way  to  the  kettles  of  the  conununal 
kitchens. 

It  was  therefore  necessary  to  act  decisively  and 
at  once,  while  all  the  glamour  of  strangeness  still 
enveloped  them.  Cortes  acted  upon  the  principle 
that  the  boldest  course  was  the  safest.    A  blow 


276  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

must  be  struck  so  promptly  and  decisively  as  to 
Effect  of  forestall  and  fatally  cripple  resistance, 
^^%^  and  here  Cortes  was  aided  by  his  expe- 
^'"^  rience  at  Cempoala.     One  can  hardly 

fail  to  see  that  on  that  occasion,  as  at  present,  his 
own  extraordinary  sagacity  must  have  derived  no 
little  aid  from  such  facts  about  the  ideas  and  hab- 
its of  the  people  as  his  keenly  observant  and  de- 
voted Marina  could  tell  him.  We  have  seen  that 
at  Cempoala  the  capture  of  a  few  chiefs  quite  para- 
lyzed the  people,  so  that  even  if  the  party  opposed 
to  the  Spaniards  had  prevailed  in  the  council  it 
would  probably  have  been  for  a  time  incapacitated 
for  action.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  incapacity 
arose  from  the  paramount  necessity  of  performing 
sacrifices  and  taking  the  auspices  before  fighting, 
and  that  nobody  but  the  head  war-chief  —  or,  in 
the  case  of  a  dual  executive,  perhaps  one  of  the  two 
head  war-chiefs  —  was  properly  qualified  to  per- 
form these  ceremonies.  Early  Greek  and  Soman 
history  afford  abundant  illustrations  of  a  stage  of 
culture  in  which  people  did  not  dare  to  precipitate 
hostilities  without  the  needful  preliminary  rites ; 
since  to  do  so  would  simply  enrage  the  tutelar  dei- 
ties and  invite  destruction.  If  we  would  under- 
stand the  conduct  of  ancient  men  we  must  not 
forget  how  completely  their  minds  were  steeped  in 
folk-lore. 

Now  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  observe 
tliat  the  people  of  the  Aztec  Confederacy  had 
joined  the  priestly  to  the  military  function  in  their 
tlacatecuhtli^  or  "  chief -of -men,"  thus  taking  a 
step  toward  developing  the  office  to  the  point  at- 


Ih 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  277 

tained  by  the  Greek  basileus^  or  king,  of  the  Ho- 
meric  period.^     We  learn  from  Sahar 
mn  that  in  ancient  Mexico  there  were  wuaprieat- 

comnuuider. 

two  high-priests,  and  the  first  of  these 
was  called  Quetzalcoatl  and  sumamed  Totec^  ^^  our 
Lord,"  ^  Now  one  of  Montezimia's  titles,  as  shown 
by  his  picture  in  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  was  Que- 
tzctlcoaU  Totec  tlamazqui  (i.  e.  Quetzalcoatl  our 
Lord  Priest)  of  Huitzilopochtli.  As  supreme  mil- 
itary commander,  Montezuma's  title  was  Tlacoch- 
tecuhtli  or  TlacochcalcatL  For  the  generalissimo 
to  become  chief  priest  of  the  war-god  is  a  devel- 
opment so  natural  and  so  practical  that  we  find  it 
repeated  in  every  society  where  we  have  data  for 
tracing  back  the  kingship  to  its  origins.  In  Mexi- 
can mythology  the  primitive  Totec  was  a  comrade 
of  the  fair  god  Quetzalcoatl ;  this  cheerful  creatui*e 
used  to  go  about  clad  in  a  garment  of  human 
skins,  and  Torquemada  tells  us  of  a  certam  great 
festival  at  which  Montezuma  performed  a  religious 
dance  clothed  in  such  a  garment.  Torquemada 
adds  that  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief 
this  was  not  a  freak  of  Montezuma's,  but  an  ances- 
tral custom.^  Clearly  it  was  a  symbolic  identifica- 
tion of  Montezuma  with  Totec.  At  the  ceremony 
of  investiture  with  the  office  of  tlacatecuhtli,  Monte- 
zuma was  solenmly  invested  with  the  garments  of 
the  war-god,  a  blue  breechcloth  and  blue  sandals, 
a  cloak  of  blue  network,  and  a  necklace  and  dia- 
dem of  turquoises.    His  fan-shaped  head-dress  was 

^  See  aboTe,  voL  i.  p.  114. 

*  Sahagnn,  Historia,  lib.  iii.  cap.  ix. 

*  Torqaemada,  Monarg[u£a  Indiana^  lib.  vii.  cap. 


278  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

made  chiefly  of  the  brilliant  goldeD-green  feathers 
of  the  quetzal^  or  paradise-trogon,  relieved  with  a 
bit  of  bright  red  from  the  tiuuquechol^  or  roseate 
spoonbill.  Attached  to  this  head-dress,  over  the 
forehead,  was  a  clasp  of  burnished  gold  in  the 
Ukeness  of  a  humming-bird's  beak ;  and  this  em« 
blem  denoted  that  Montezuma  was  the  living  rep- 
resentative of  Huitzilopochtli.^  None  but  him 
could  without  sacrilege  assume  this  emblem.  This 
group  of  facts  seems  to  prove  that  Montezuma 
had  acquired  the  fimctions  of  supreme  pontiff  in 
addition  to  those  of  supreme  war-chief.  Indeed  in 
his  blue  raiment,  with  the  gold  beak  over  his  fore- 
head, he  was  attired  in  the  paraphernalia  of  a 
*^  god-king,"  and  to  that  dignity  and  authority  his 
office  would  probably  in  course  of  time  have  de- 
veloped if  things  had  been  allowed  to  take  their 
natural  course.^  Montezmna  was  not  the  first 
"  chief-of-men  "  at  Tenochtitlan  in  whom  the  func- 
tions of  high  priest  and  head  war-chief  were  com- 
bined. That  stage  of  development  had  already 
been  reached  in  his  immediate  predecessors  Ahui- 
zotl,  Tizoc,  and  Axayacatl,  if  not  earlier. 

Just  how  far  Cortes  imderstood  the  natural 
effect  of  capturing  such  a  personage  and  holding 
him  in  durance,  one  can  hardly  say.    Incredibly 

^  For  the  facts  mentioned  in  this  iMmgraph  I  am  indebted  to 
the  learned  monograph  of  Mrs.  Zelia  Nuttall,  *^  Standard  or  Head- 
dress ?  an  Historical  Essay  on  a  Relic  of  Ancient  Mexico,^*  in 
Peabody  Museum,  Archaological  and  Ethnological  Papers,  ro\.  L 
No.  1,  Cambridge,  1888.  This  essay  shows  that  Mrs.  Nnttall  has 
made  notable  progress  in  the  difficult  work  of  deciphering  the 
ancient  Mexican  hieroglyphic  wiitinflr. 

3  See  bekw,  p.  947. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  279 

audacious  as  the  plan  must  have  seemed,  it  was 
probably  the  only  thing  that  could  have  saved  the 
Spaniards,  and  Cortes  (as  he  wrote  to  Charles  V.) 
had  been  in  the  city  only  six  days  when  his  deci- 
sion was  made.  Events  had  lately  come  ^j^  ^^  ^^ 
to  his  knowledge  which  furnished  a  <i"«>»pop*«- 
pretext.  A  small  band  of  Spaniards  had  been  left 
at  Vera  Cruz,  and  Quauhpopoca — an  Aztec  chief, 
probably  one  of  Montezuma's  tax-gatherers  sent  to 
collect  tribute  from  the  pueblo  of  Nautla  —  had 
picked  a  quarrel  with  these  Spaniards,  and  there 
had  been  a  fight  in  which  the  white  men  were  vic- 
torious, but  not  without  losing  half-a-dozen  of  their 
number.  The  fact  was  thus  revealed  that  the 
strangers  were  mortal.  Cortes  decided  to  make 
this  affair  the  occasion  for  taking  posses'^ion  of 
Montezuma's  person.  After  a  night  spen^  with 
his  captains  and  priests  in  earnest  prayer,^  he 
visited  the  "  chief-of-men,"  in  company  with  the 
big  blonde  ^^  sun-faced  '*  Alvarado  and  other  maiL 
clad  warriors,  and  taking,  as  usual,  his  trusty  Ma- 
rina as  interpreter.  Cortes  told  Montezuma  that 
charges  had  been  brought  against  him  of  having 
instigated  the  conduct  of  Quauhpopoca ;  not  that 
Cortes  believed  these  charges,  O  dear,  no  !  he  had 
too  much  respect  for  the  noble  tlacatecuhtli  to  be- 
lieve them,  but  still  it  was  his  duty  to  investigate 
the  facts  of  the  case.  Monteziuna  promptly  de- 
spatched a  messenger  to  bring  home  the  unlucky 

^  *^  £  como  teniemos  acordado  el  dia  antes  de  prender  al  Mon- 
tegnma,  toda  la  noche  estuuimos  en  oracion  con  el  Padre  de  la 
Merced,  ro^ndo  d  Dies,  que  fnesae  de  tal  modo,  que  rednndawe 
para  sa  santo  servido.'*  Diax,  Historia  verdadera^  cap.  zov.  fol. 
74  yeno. 


280  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Quauhpopoca.  Very  good,  pursued  Cortes  with 
much  suavity,  but  until  the  inquiry  should  be 
brought  to  some  satisfactory  termination,  of  course 
his  august  friend  could  not  entertain  the  slightest 
objection  to  coming  and  making  his  quarters  in 
the  tecpan  occupied  by  the  white  men.  It  ap- 
peared, however,  that  Montezuma  did  entertain 
most  decided  objections  to  any  such  surrender  of 
Seizure  of  himsclf.  But  his  arguments  and  en- 
Montesuma.  treaties  were  of  no  avail  against  the 
mixture  of  soft  persuasion  with  ominous  threats  in 
which  Cortes  knew  so  well  how  to  deal  So  when 
the  Spanish  captains  returned  to  their  fortress 
they  took  Montezuma  with  them,  l>aying  him  every 
outward  mark  of  respect.  It  was  a  very  subtle 
scheme.  The  tlacatecuhtli  was  simply  transferred 
from  one  tecpan  to  another;  the  tribal  council 
could  meet  and  public  business  be  transacted  in 
the  one  place  as  well  as  in  the  other.  That  the 
fa^t  of  Montezuma's  virtual  imprisonment  might 
not  become  too  glaring,  Cortes  sometimes  let  him 
go  to  the  temple,  but  on  such  occasions  not  less 
than  a  himdred  Spaniards,  armed  to  the  teeth, 
served  as  an  escort.  Cortes  was  now  acting  gov- 
ernor of  Tenochtitlan  and  of  the  Confederacy, 
with  Montezuma  as  his  mouthpiece  and  the  ttato- 
can^  or  tribal  council,  holding  its  meetings  under 
his  own  roof ! 

When  Quauhpopoca  arrived,  a  couple  of  weeks 
after  the  seizure  of  Montezuma,  Cortes  had  him 
tried  for  treason,  and  condemned  him,  with  several 
of  his  friends,  to  be  burned  alive  in  the  square  in 
front  of  his  tecpan;   and  with  a  refinement   of 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  281 

prudence  and  of  audacity  at  which  one  cannot 
sufficiently  marvel,  he  sent  his  men  aroimd  to  the 
dart-houses  and  collected  a  vast  quan-  Burning  of 
tity  of  arrows  and  javelins  which  he  <i'""^pop«»- 
caused  to  be  piled  up  about  the  stakes  to  which 
the  victims  were  chained,  so  that  weapons  and 
warriors  were  consumed  in  the  same  blaze.  A 
conspiracy  for  the  release  of  Montezuma,  in  which 
his  brother  Cuitlahuatzin  and  the  tribal  chiefs  of 
Tezcuco  and  Tlacopan  were  implicated,  was  duly 
discovered,  and  it  was  not  long  before  Cortes  had 
these  three  dignitaries  safely  confinecl  in  his  tec 
pan  and  in  irons,  while  he  contrived,  through  Mon- 
tezuma, to  dictate  to  the  tribal  councils  at  Tezcuco 
and  Tlacopan  the  summary  dei)osition  of  the  old 
chiefs  and  the  election  of  such  new  ones  as  he 
deemed  likely  to  be  interested  on  their  own  ac- 
count in  his  safety.  He  does  not  seem  to  have 
realized  the  full  importance  of  his  capture  of  Cid- 
tlahuatzin,  who  stood  next  to  Montezimia  in  the 
customary  line  of  succession.  In  Tenochtitlan 
Cortes  began  an  image-breaking  crusade.  The 
cruel  custom  of  human  sacrifices  greatly  shocked 
him,  as  men  are  wont  to  be  shocked  by  any  kind 
of  wickedness  with  which  they  are  imfamiliar; 
and  devil-worship  was  something  that  his  notions 
of  Christian  duty  required  him  to  suppress.  His 
action  in  this  direction  might  have  been  over  rash 
but  for  the  sagacious  coimsel  of  his  spiritual  ad- 
viser. Father  Olmedo,  who  warned  him 

Cleansing  of 

not  to  eo  too  fast,     bo  at  first  he  con-  on*  of  the 

"  pyramids. 

tented  himself  with  taking  possession  of 

one  of  the  pyramids,  where  he  threw  down   the 


282  TEE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

idols,  cleansed  the  reeking  altar  and  sprinkled  it 
with  holy  water,  set  up  the  crucifix  and  an  image 
of  the  Virgin,  and  had  the  mass  performed  there, 
while  the  heathen  multitude  in  the  square  below 
looked  on  and  saw  it  alL  If  we  did  not  under- 
stand the  possible  interpretation  of  these  acts  as 
sanctioned  by  Quetzalcoatl,  and  also  the  super- 
stitious incapacity  of  the  people  to  act  without 
their  priest-commander,  it  would  be  utterly  in- 
comprehensible that  the  fires  of  Aztec  wrath  should 
have  smouldered  so  long.  The  long  winter  passed 
Arrirai  of  ui  sullcu  quiet,  and  April  flowers  were 
^•™^  blooming,  when  picture-writing,  sent  up 
from  the  coast,  was  fraught  with  sudden  intelli- 
gence alarming  to  Cortes.  Panfilo  de  Narraez, 
with  18  ships  and  not  less  than  1,200  soldiers,  had 
anchored  at  San  Juan  de  UUoa,  sent  from  Cuba 
by  Velasquez,  with  orders  to  pursue  the  diso- 
bedient knight«rrant  and  arrest  him. 

Cortes  was  not  the  man  to  waste  precious  mo- 
ments in  wondering  what  he   had  better  do.     He 
left  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  with  about  150  men,  to 
take  charge  of  Montezuma  and  Mexico.    With  the 
remaining:  300  he  hastened  to  the  coast, 

n^fmt  of  o  ^   ^ 

Nwmei.  came  down  upon  Narvaez  unawares  like 
a  thief  in  the  night,  defeated  and  captured  him^ 
entranced  his  troops  with  tales  of  the  great  Mexi 
ciui  pueblo,  whetted  their  greed  with  hopes  oi 
plunder,  kindled  the  missionary  zeal  of  the  priests 
and  ended  by  enlisting  every  man  of  them  undei 
his  own  banner.  Thus  with  more  than  quadruplec 
fonH5  he  marched  back  to  Mexico.  There  evi 
news  awaited  him*     Alvarado's  cast  of  mind  ww 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO,  283 

of  far  lower  grade  tlian  that  of  Cortes.  He  had 
in  him  less  of  Eeynard  and  more  of  Isegrim.  Not 
fathoming  the  reasons  of  the  Aztecs  for  forbear- 
ance, he  made  the  grave  mistake  of  despising  them 
as  spiritless  cowards.  There  were  some  gromids 
for  a  suspicion  that  the  chiefs  of  the  clans  were 
meditating  an  attack  upon  the  Spaniards  in  the 
city,  and  Alvarado,  in  this  imminent  peril,  with 
nerves  intensely  strained,  made  up  his  mind  to  be 
beforehand.  There  was  in  the  Aztec  city  a  great 
spring  festival,  the  gladdest  of  the  year,  the  May 
day  of  rejoicing  over  the  return  of  verdure  and 
flowers.  Every  year  at  this  season  a  young  man, 
especially  chosen  for  manly  beauty  and  prowess, 
was  presented  with  four. brides  and  feasted  sump- 
tuously during  a  honeymoon  of  twenty  Festival  of 
days.  On  the  twenty-first  day  all  mili-  '^'^^^p<^ 
tary  deeds  and  plans  were  held  in  abeyance,  and 
the  city  was  given  up  to  festivities,  while  a  solemn 
procession  of  youths  and  maidens,  clad  in  dainty 
white  cotton  and  crowned  with  garlands  of  roasted 
maize,  escorted  the  chosen  young  man  to  the  siun- 
mit  of  the  great  pyramid.  There  they  knelt  and 
adored  him  as  an  incarnation  of  the  god  Tezcatli- 
poca.  Then  he  was  sacrificed  in  the  usual  man- 
ner, and  morsels  of  his  flesh  were  sent  about  to 
the  clan  chiefs  to  be  stewed  and  eaten  with  devout 
hymns  and  dances.^ 

^  The  sacrifice  of  a  she-goat  by  some  of  the  barbarians  in  the 
army  of  Alboin,  King  of  the  Lombards,  afiPorded  Gibbon  an  op- 
portunity for  one  of  his  ingenious  little  thrusts  at  the  current 
theology  of  his  time.  "  Gregory  the  Roman  (Dialog.^  iii.  27)  sup- 
poses that  they  likewise  adored  this  she-goat.  I  know  of  but  one 
religion  in  which  the  god  and  the  victim  are  the  same  "  (!)    De- 


284  THE  mSCOVESY  OF  AMEBJCA.     ' 

It  was  this  day  of  barbaric  festivity  inAe  yew 
1520  that  the  imprudent  Alvarado  selected  for 
delivering  his  blow.  In  the  midst  of  the  ceremo- 
nies the  little  band  of  Spaniards  fell  upon  the 
AiTando*a  people  and  massacred  about  600,  includ* 
"•"""^^^  ing  many  chiefs  of  clans.  Thus  Alva- 
rado brought  on  the  sudden  calamity  which  he 
had  hoped  to  avert.  The  Aztecs  were  no  cowards, 
and  had  not  the  Spaniards  still  possessed  the 
priest-commander  Montezuma  it  would  have  gone 
hard  with  them.  As  it  was  they  soon  deemed  it 
best  to  retreat  to  their  fortress,  where  they  were 
surrounded  and  besieged  by  a  host  of  Indians  who 
began  trying  in  places  to  undermine  the  walls.  By 
threats  Alvarado  compelled  Montezuma  to  go  out 
upon  the  roof  and  quiet  the  outbreak.  Things 
went  on  for  some  weeks  without  active  fighting, 
but  the  Indians  burned  the  brigantines  on  the 
lake  which  Cortes  had  built  during  the  winter  as 
a  means  of  retreat  in  case  of  disaster.  The  Span- 
iards by  good  luck  found  a  spring  in  their  court- 
yard and  their  store  of  com  was  ample,  so  that 
thirst  and  hunger  did  not  yet  assail  them. 

When  Cortes  entered  the  city  on  the  24th  of 
June,  he  found  the  streets  deserted,  the  markets 
closed,  and  many  of  the  drawbridges  raised.     A 

dine  and  FaUj  cliap.  zIt.,  note  14.  Ancient  Mezioo  would  liaTe 
furnished  the  learned  historian  with  another  example,  and  a  more 
extensiye  study  of  barbarous  races  would  have  shown  him  that 
the  case  of  Christianity  is  by  no  means  ezceptionaL  Indeed  tlM 
whole  doctrine  of  vicarious  sacrifice,  by  which  Christianity  was 
for  a  time  helped,  but  has  now  long  been  encumbered,  is  a  8ar> 
viyal  from  the  gross  theories  characteristic  of  the  middle  period 
of  barbarism. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  285 

few  Indians  from  their  doorways  scowled  at  the 
passing  troops.    When  Cortes  met  Alvarado  he  told 
him  that  he  had  behaved  like  a  madman,  but  it 
was  now  the  turn  of  Cortes  himself  to  Y^x/t^m  of 
make  a  mistake.     He  could  not  be  ex-  cortea. 
pected  to  know  that  in  that  commimity  there  was 
an  ulterior  power  behind  the  throne.    That  ulterior 
power  was  the  tlatocan^  or  tribal  coimcil,  which 
elected  the  priest-commander  from  the  members  of 
a  particular  family,  in  accordance   with   certain 
customary  rules  of  succession.     In  a  great  emer- 
gency the  council  which   thus  elected   the   ruler 
could  depose  him  and  elect  another.     Now  Cortes 
had  in  his  fortress  Montezuma's  brother  Cuitla- 
huatzin,  who  stood  next  in  the  regular  line  of  suc- 
cession, and  he  evidently  did  not  understand   the 
danger  in  letting  him  out.     The  increase  of  num- 
bers was  fast  telling  upon  the  stock  of  food,  and 
Cortes  sent  out  Cuitlahuatzin  with  orders  to  have 
the  markets  opened.     This  at  once  brought  mat- 
ters to  a  terrible  crisis.    Cuitlahuatzin  convened  the 
tlatocan^  which  instantly  deposed  Mon-  Deposition  of 
tezuma  and  elected   him  in  his   place.  Montexuma. 
Early  next  morning  came  the  outbreak.    A  hoarse 
sound  arose,  like  the  murmur  of  distant  waters, 
and   soon  the  imprisoned   Spaniards   from  their- 
parapet    saw  pyramids,   streets,    and    house-tops 
black  with  raging  warriors.     They  attacked  with 
arrows,  slings,  and  javelins,  and  many  Spaniards 
were   killed   or  wounded.     The   Spanish   cannon 
swept  the  streets  with  terrible  effect  and  the  canals 
xiear  by  ran  red  with  blood,  but  the  Indians  pressed 
on,  and  shot  burning  arrows  through  the  embra- 


286  TB£  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

sures  until  the  interior  woodwork  began  to  take 
fire. 

At  Cortes's  direction  Montezuma  presented  liim- 
self  on  the  terraced  roof  and  sought  to  assuage  the 
wrath  of  the  people,  but  now  he  found  that  his 
authority  was  ended.  Another  now  wore  the 
golden  beak  of  the  war-god.  He  was  no  longer 
general,  no  longer  priest,  and  his  person  had  lost 
its  sacred  character.  Stones  and  darts  were  hurled 
at  him ;  he  was  struck  down  by  a  heavy 

Hi«  death.  .  J  J 

stone,  and  died  a  few  days  afterward, 
whether  from  the  wound,  or  from  chagrin,  or  both. 
Before  his  death  the  Spaniards  made  a  sortie,  and 
after  terrific  hand  to  hand  fighting  stormed  the 
great  temple  which  overlooked  and  commanded 
their  own  quarters  and  had  sadly  annoyed  them. 
They  flung  down  the  idols  among  the  people  and 
burned  the  accursed  shrines.  It  was  on  the  last 
day  of  June  that  Montezuma  died,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  next  day,  fearing  lest  his  army 
should  be  blockaded  and  starved,  Cortes  evacuated 
the  city.  The  troops  marched  through  quiet  and 
deserted  streets  till  they  reached  the  great  cause- 
way leading  to  Tlacopan.  Its  three  drawbridges 
had  all  been  destroyed.  The  Spaniards  carried  a 
pontoon,  but  while  they  were  passing  over  the  first 
bridgeway  the  Indians  fell  upon  them  in  vast 
numbers,  their  light  canoes  swarming  on  both  sides 
of  the  narrow  road.     The  terrible  night  that  en- 

The  MeUui-      ^ucd  has  cvcr  since  been  known  in  his- 
choiy  Night.     ^^  3^  i^  ^^^j^^  ^^^^^^     Cortes  started 

in  the  evening  with  1,250  Spaniards,  6,000  Tlasca- 
lans,  and  80  horses.    Next  morning,  after  reaching 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO,  287 

teira  flrma  he  had  500  Spaniards,  2,000  Tlascalans, 
and  20  horses.  All  his  cannon  were  sunk  in  the 
lake ;  and  40  Spaniards  were  in  Aztec  clutches  to 
be  offered  up  to  the  war-god.  Then  Cortes  sat  down 
upon  a  rock,  and  buried  his  face  in  his  hands  and 
wept. 

Not  for  one  moment,  however,  did  he  flinch  in 
his  purpose  of  taking  Mexico.  In  a  few  days  the 
Indians  from  that  and  other  neighbouring  pueblos 
attacked  him  in  overwhelming  force  in  the  vaUey 
of  Otumba,  hoping  to  complete  his  destruction, 
but  he  won  such  a  decisive  and  murderous  victory 
as  to  reestablish  his  shaken  prestige.  It  was 
well,  for  Mexico  had  sent  an  embassy  to  Tlascala, 
and  in  that  pueblo  the  council  of  clan  chiefs  were 
having  an  earnest  debate  much  like  ^ 
those  that  one  reads  in  Thucydides  or  otamt»MMi 
Xenophon.  There  were  speakers  who 
feared  that  success  for  the  Spaniards  would  ulti- 
mately mean  servitude  for  Tlascala,  and  the  Aztec 
envoys  played  upon  this  fear.  Nothing  could 
have  happened  at  this  time  so  likely  to  ensure  the 
destruction  of  Cortes  as  the  defection  of  the  Tlas- 
calans. But  his  victory  at  Otumba  determined 
them  to  keep  up  their  alliance  with  him.  During 
the  autumn  Cortes  occupied  himseU  with  opera- 
ticms,  military  and  diplomatic,  among  the  smaller 
pueblos,  defeating  any  that  ventured  to  resist  him 
and  making  alliances  with  such  as  were  eager  to 
wreak  their  vengeance  upon  the  hated  Tenochti- 
tlan.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  all  this  work  was 
done  with  characteristic  skill.  Cortes  now  found 
ships  useful.    Taking  some  of  those  that  had  come 


k 


288  THE  DISCOVEMT  OF  AMEMBCA. 

with  Xairaei;  be  sent  tliem  to  HiqiHBiola  &r  ImvmSv 
eannoo,  and  soldien ;  and  bj  ChrisliBas  £Te  be 
found  bimself  at  the  head  <rf  a  thaww^^ilT  equipped 
anny  of  TOO  infantry  anned  with  pikes  and  ci€a»> 
bowft,  118  arqoebnaieni,  86  cavalry,  a  doaen  can- 
non, and  seTeral  thoosand  Indian  allies.  Hioag^ 
the  belief  that  white  men  ooold  not  be  killed  had 
been  quite  oTerthrown,  yet  the  pvestige  of  Coites 
as  a  resistless  warrior  was  now  restored,  and  the 
prospect  of  humbling  the  Axtecs  kindled  a  fierce 
enthusiasm  in  the  men  of  QuauquedK^lan,  Hue- 
xotzinco,  Chalco,  and  other  pueblos  now  ranked 
among  his  allies. 

Starting  at  Christmas  on  his  final  mardi  against 
the  mighty  pueblo,  Cortes  first  proceeded  to  Tez- 
cuco.  In  that  community  there  was  disaffectkm 
toward  its  partner  on  the  lake,  resulting  from  re- 
cent quarrels  between  the  chiefs,  and  now  IxUit 
xochitl,  the  new  war-chief  of  the  Tezcucans,  gave 
Gaining  of  ^^  ^^  adherence  to  Cortes,  admitted 
TdMuco.  Yioi  into  the  town,  and  entertained  him 
hospitably  in  the  tecpan.  This  move  broke  up 
the  Aztec  Confederacy,  placed  all  the  warriors  of 
Tezcuco  at  the  disposal  of  Cortes,  and  enabled  him 
without  opposition  to  launch  a  new  flotilla  of  brig- 
antines  on  the  lake  and  support  them  with  swarms 
of  agile  Tezcucan  canoes.  Thus  the  toils  were 
closing  in  upon  doomed  Tenochtitlan.  Meanwhile 
8uiall-pox  had  carried  off  Cuitlahuatzin,  and  his 
nephew  Guatemotzin  was  now  "chief-of-men,"  — a 
bravo  warrior  whom  Mexicans  to  this  day  regard 
with  affectionate  admiration  for  his  gallant  defence 
of  tlicir  city.     For  ferocious  courage  the  Aztecs 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  289 

were  not  surpassed  by  any  other  Indians  on  the 
continent,  and  when  Cortes  at  length  began  the 
siege  of  Mexico,  April  28,  1521,^  the  fighting  that 
ensued  was  incessant  and  terrible.  The  fresh 
water  supply  was  soon  cut  off,  and  then  slowly 
but  surely  the  besiegers  upon  the  three  causeways 
and  in  the  brigantines  closed  in  upon  their  prey. 
Points  of  advantage  were  sometimes  giegeof 
lost  by  the  Aztecs  through  their  exces-  ^"*^- 
give  anxiety  to  capture  Spaniards  alive.  Occasion- 
ally they  succeeded,  and  then  from  the  top  of  the 
great  pyramid  woidd  resound  the  awful  tones  of 
the  sacrificial  dnmi  made  of  serpent  skins,  a  sound 
that  could  be  heard  in  every  quarter  of  this  horri- 
ble city ;  and  the  soids  of  the  soldiers  sickened  as 
they  saw  their  wretched  comrades  dragged  up  the 
long  staircase,  to  be  offered  as  sacrifices  to  Satan. 
Every  inch  of  ground  was  contested  by  the  Aztecs 
with  a  fury  that  reminds  one  of  the  resistance  of 
Jerusalem  to  the  soldiers  of  Titus.  At  last,  on 
the  13th  of  August,  the  resistance  came  to  an  end. 
Canals  and  footways  were  choked  with  corpses, 
and  a  great  part  of  the  city  lay  in  ruins.  The 
first  work  of  the  conquerors  was  to  cleanse  and 
rebuild.  The  ancient  religion  soon  passed  away, 
the  ancient  society  was  gradually  metamorphosed, 
and  Mexico  assumed  the  aspect  of  a  Spanish 
town.  On  the  site  of  the  heathen  temple  a  Gothic 
church  was  erected,  which  in  1573  was  replaced 
by  the  cathedral  that  still  stands  there. 
The  capture  of  Tenochtitlan  was  by  no  means 

^  The  death  of  Magellan,  at  Matan,  occurred  the  day  before, 
April  27. 


290  THE  DISCOVEBY  OF  AMERICA. 

equivalent  to  the  conquest  of  the  vast  t^rritorf 
that  now  goes  under  the  name  of  Mexico.  Much 
work  was  yet  to  be  done  in  all  directions,  but  it  is 
not  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  this  book  that  I 
should  give  an  account  of  it  I  am  concerned 
here  with  the  Conquest  of  Mexico  only  in  so  far 
as  it  is  an  episode  in  the  Discovery  of  America, 
only  in  so  far  as  it  illustrates  a  phase  of  the  earli- 
est contact  between  the  two  hemispheres,  each 
hitherto  ignorant  of  the  other,  each  so  curiously 
affected  by  its  first  experience  of  the  other ;  and 
for  my  purpose  the  story  here  given  will  suffice. 
Nor  is  it  necessary  to  recount  the  vicissitudes  of 
the  later  years  of  Cortes,  who  had  to  contend 
against  the  enmity  of  Bishop  Fonseca  and  a  series 
of  untoward  circumstances  connected  therewith. 
His  discovery  of  the  peninsula  of  California  will 
be  mentioned  in  a  future  chapter.  He  returned 
finally  to  Spain  in  1540,  and  served  with  g^reat 
^^  ^  merit  in  the  expedition  agaitot  Algiers 
cortea.  ^    ^^    f ollowiug  year ;    but    he   was 

neglected  by  the  emperor,  and  passed  the  rest  of 
his  life  in  seclusion  at  Seville.  He  died  at  a 
small  village  near  that  city  on  the  2d  of  Deceufc- 
ber,  1547. 

A  great  deal  of  sentimental  ink  has  been  shed 
How  the  Span-  ^^^^  ^^  wickcdncss  of  the  Spaniards 
iSl'ouid  ta«^  in  crossing  the  ocean  and  attacking 
garded.  peoplc  who  had  never  done  them  any 

harm,  overturning  and  obliterating  a  "  splendid 
civilization,"  and  more  to  the  same  effect.  It  is 
undeniable  that  unprovoked  aggression  is  an  ex- 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  291 

tremely  hateful  thing,  and  many  of  the  circum- 
stances attendant  upon  the  Spanish  conquest  in 
America  were  not  only  heinous  in  their  atrocity, 
but  were  emphatically  condemned,  as  we  shall 
presently  see,  by  the  best  moral  standards  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  Yet  if  we  are  to  be  guided 
by  strict  logic,  it  would  be  difficiUt  to  condemn 
the  Spaniards  for  the  mere  act  of  conquering 
Mexico  without  involving  in  the  same  condenmation 
our  own  forefathers  who  crossed  the  ocean  and 
OTerran  the  territory  of  the  United  States  mth 
small  regard  for  the  proprietary  rights  of  Algon- 
quins,  or  Iroquois,  or  red  men  of  any  sort.  Our  fore- 
fathers, if  called  upon  to  justify  themselves,  would 
have  replied  that  they  were  founding  Christian 
states  and  diffusing  the  blessings  of  a  higher  civ- 
ilization ;  and  such,  in  spite  of  much  alloy  in  the 
motives  and  imperfection  in  the  performance,  was 
eertainly  the  case.  Now  if  we  would  not  lose  or 
distort  the  historical  perspective,  we  must  bear  in 
mind  that  the  Spanish  conquerors  would  have  re- 
turned exactly  the  same  answer.  If  Cortes  were 
to  return  to  this  world  and  pick  up  some  history 
book  in  which  he  is  described  as  a  mere  pic- 
turesque adventurer,  he  would  feel  himseU  very 
unjustly  treated.  He  would  say  that  he  had 
higher  aims  than  those  of  a  mere  fighter  and  gold- 
hunter;  and  so  doubtless  he  had.  In  the  com- 
plex tangle  of  motives  that  actuated  the  mediaeval 
Spaniard  —  and  in  his  peninsula  we  may  apply 
the  term  mediaeval  to  later  dates  than  would  be 
proper  in  France  or  Italy  —  the  desire  of  extend- 
ing the  dominion  of  the  Church  was  a  very  real  and 


292  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

powerful  incentive  to  action.  The  strength  of  the 
missionary  and  cmsading  spirit  in  Cortes  is  seen 
in  the  fact  that  where  it  was  concerned,  and  theie 
only,  was  he  liable  to  let  zeal  overcome  prudence. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  after  making  aU 
allowances,  the  Spaniards  did  introduce  a  better 
state  of  society  into  Mexico  than  they  found  there. 
It  was  high  time  that  an  end  should  be  put  to 
those  hecatombs  of  human  victims,  slashed,  torn 

open,  and  devoured  on  all  the  little  oo- 
thimrfor         casions  of  life.     It  sounds  quite  pithy 

to  say  that  the  Inquisition,  as  conducted 
in  Mexico,  was  as  great  an  evil  as  the  human 
sacrifices  and  the  cannibalism ;  but  it  is  not  tme.^ 
Compared  with  the  ferocious  barbarism  of  an- 
cient Mexico  the  contemporary  Spanish  modes  of 
life  were  mild,  and  this,  I  think,  helps  further 
to  explain  the  ease  with  which  the  country  was 
conquered.  In  a  certain  sense  the  prophecy  of 
Quetzalcoatl  was  fulfilled,  and  the  coming  of  the 
Spaniards  did  mean  the  final  dethronement  of  the 
ravening  Tezcatlipoca.  The  work  of  the  noble 
Franciscan  and  Dominican  monks  who  followed 
closely  upon  Cortes,  and  devoted  their  lives  to  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  Mexicans,  is  a  more  attrac- 
tive subject  than  any  picture  of  military  conquest. 
To  this  point  I  shall  return  hereafter,  when  we 
come  to  consider  the  sublime  career  of  Las  Casas. 
For  the  present  we  may  conclude  in  the  spirit  of 
one  of  the  noblest  of  Spanish  historians,  Pedro  de 

^  As  Llorente,  the  historian  of  the  Inquisition  'who  has  f  nllj 
set  forth  its  enormities,  once  wittily  ohserred,  **  II  ne  faat  pas 
calomnier  mdme  T Inquisition.*' 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO, 


298 


Cieza  de  Leon,  and  praise  God  that  the  idols  are 
cast  down.^ 


The  conquest  of  Mexico  was  followed  at  inter- 
vals by  the  reduction  of  Gruatemala,  Honduras, 
and  Yucatan ;  and  while  this  work  was  going  on, 
captains  from  Darien  overran  Nicaragua,  so  that 
what  we  may  call  the  northern  and  southern 
streams  of  Spanish  conquest  —  the  stream  which 
started  from  Hispaniola  by  way  of  Cuba,  and  that 
which  started  from  Hispaniola  by  way  of  Darien 
—  at  length  came  together  again.  The  southern 
stream  of  Spanish  conquest,  thus  stopped  in  one 
direction  at  Nicaragua,  kept  on  its  course  south- 
ward along  the  Pacific  coast  of  South  America 
until  it  encountered  a  kind  of  semi-civilization 
different  from  anything  else  that  was  to  be  seen 
in  Hie  western  hemispW  We  are  now  pre- 
pared  for  the  sketch,  hitherto  postponed,  of  An- 
eient  Peru. 

^  Crdtdca  del  PerUf  pt.  i.  cap.  IviiL 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ANCIENT  PERU. 

From  the  elevated  table-lands  of  New  Mexico 
and  Arizona  to  the  southward  as  far  as  the  moun- 
tain fastnesses  of  Bolivia,  the  region  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras was  the  seat  of  culture  in  various  degrees 
more  advanced  than  that  of  any  other  parts  of  the 
New  World.  Starting  from  Central  America,  we 
find  in  the  tombs  of  the  little  province 
**  of   Chiriqui,  between  Costa   Rica  and 

Yeragua,  a  wealth  of  artistic  remains  that  serve  in 
some  respects  to  connect  the  culture  of  Central 
America  with  that  of  the  semi'<;ivilized  peoples 
beyond  the  isthmus  of  Darien.^  Of  these  peoples 
the  first  were  the  Muyscas,  or  Chibchas,  whose 
principal  towns  were  near  the  site  of  Bogota. 
There  were  many  tribes  of  Chibchas,  speaking  as 
many  distinct  dialects  of  a  common  stock  lan- 
guage. They  had  no  writing  except  rude  picto- 
graphs  and  no  means  of  recording  events.  Their 
family  was  in  a  rudimentary  state  of  development, 
and  kinship  was  traced  only  tlirough 
the  female  line.  There  was  a  priest- 
hood, and  the  head  war-chief,  whose  ofi&ce  was  eleo- 

*  See  Holmes,  "  Ancient  Art  of  the  Province  of  Chiriqni," 
Eeports  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology^  vol.  vi.  pp.  13-187 ;  Bollaert, 
Antiqmarian  Researches  in  New  Granada^  Loudon,  ISGO. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  295 

tive,  had  begun  to  exercise  the  highest  priestly 
functions.  They  were  idolaters,  with  human  sac- 
rifices, but  seem  to  have  abandoned  cannibalism. 
Their  funeral  customs  deserve  mention.  We  have 
observed  that  the  Mexicans  practised  cremation.. 
In  some  parts  of  Central  America  the  dead  were 
buried,  in  others  burnt.  But  in  coming  down  to 
the  isthmus  of  Darien  we  begin  to  find  mimmiies. 
Among  the  people  of  the  Andes  in  the  middle 
status  of  barbarism,  it  was  customary  to  embalm 
the  bodies  of  chiefs  and  other  important  person- 
ages, and  to  wrap  them  closely  in  £ne  mantles 
adorned  with  emeralds.  The  mummy  wa»  then 
buried,  and  food,  weapons,  and  living  eoncubines 
were  buried  with  it.  Such  was  the  practice  among^ 
the  Chibchas. 

The  houses  of  these  people  were  very  large,  and 
shaped  either  like  the  frustiun  of  a  eone  or  like- 
that  of  a  pyramid.  The  walls  were  built  of  stout 
timbers  fastened  with  wedges  and  cemented  with 
adobe  clay.  Maize  and  cotton  were  cultivated,, 
and  cotton  cloth  of  various  coloured  designs  wa» 
made.  The  rafts  and  rope  bridges  resembled 
those  of  the  Peruvians  hereafter  to  be  mentioned.. 
Chiefs  and  priests  were  carried  on  wooden  litters^ 
In  every  town  there  were  fairs  at  stated  intervals.- 
Goods  were  sold  by  measure,  but  not  by  weight. 
Bound  tiles  of  gold,  without  stamp  or  marking  of 
any  sort,  served  as  a  currency,  and  when  there 
was  not  enough  of  it  salt  was  used  as  a  medium 
of  exchange.  Trade,  however,  was  chiefly  barter.. 
The  Chibchas  had  some  slight  intercourse  with  the 


296  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

people  of  Quito  and  some  knowledge  of  the  Inca 
kingdom  beyond.^ 

This  Chibcha  culture,  in  many  respects  lower, 
but  in  some  respects  higher,  than  that  of  the  Mex- 
icans, was  probably  typical  of  the  whole  Andes 
region  for  unknown  centuries  before  its  various 
peoples  were  brought  under  the  comparatively  civ- 
ilizing sway  of  the  Incas.  On  the  eastern  slopes  of 
the  giant  mountains  this  semi^civilization  main- 
tained itself  precariously  against  the  surging  waves 
of  lower  barbarism  and  savagery.  The  ethnology 
of  South  America  has  been  much  less  thoroughly 
studied  than  that  of  North  America,  and  our  sub- 
ject does  not  require  us  to  attempt  to  enumerate 
or  characterize  these  lower  peoples.  They  have 
been  arranged  provisionally  in  four  groups,  al- 
though it  is  pretty  clear  that  instances  of  non- 
related  tribes  occur  in  some  if  not  in  all  the  groups. 
At  the  time  of  the  Discovery  the  ferocious  Ca- 
ribs  inhabited  the  forests  of  Venezuela 
and  Gruiana,  and  had  established  them- 
selves upon  many  of    the   West  India  islands. 

'  llie  principal  sources  of  information  about  the  Chibchas  are 
Piedrahita,  Historia  del  Nuevo  Reyno  de  Granaday  Antwerp, 
1688  ;  Simon,  Tercera  {y  cuarta)  noticia  de  la  seguruia  parte  de  Icls 
Noticias  Uistoriales  de  las  Conquistas  de  Tierra  Firme  en  el  Nuevo 
Reyno  de  Granada^  1(^24  (in  Kingsborongh's  Mexican  Antiqukiex^ 
vol.  viii.) ;  Ilerrera,  Historia  General  de  los  hechos  de  los  Castel- 
lanosy  etc.,  Madrid,  1001  (especially  the  fifth  book)  ;  Joaquin 
Acosta,  Compendio  Historico  del  Descubrimiento  y  Colonizacion  de 
la  Nueva  Granada,  Paris,  1848 ;  Cassani,  Historia  de  la  Com* 
pagnia  de  Jesus  del  Nuevo  Reino  de  Granada,  Madrid,  1741; 
Uricoechea,  Memoria  sobre  leu  Antiguedades  Neo-Granadinas^ 
Berlin,  1854.  The  subject  is  well  tabulated  in  Spencer's  Descrip* 
tive  Sociology^  No.  ii. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  297 

Their  name,  first  written  in  Latin  form  '^Cari- 
balcs  "  by  Columbus  in  1498,  was  presently  cor- 
rupted into  *^  Canibales,"  and  Has  thus  furnished 
European  languages  with  an  epithet  since  applied 
to  all  eaters  of  human  flesh.  Adjacent  to  the 
Caribs,  but  distinct  from  them,  were  the  May- 
pures,  whose  tribes  ranged  from  the  headwaters  of 
tiie  Orinoco  southward  into  Bolivia.  The  Caribs 
and  Maypures  make  up  what  is  geographically 
rather  than  ethnologically  known  as  the  Orinoco 
group  of  Indians.  A  second  group,  called  Ama- 
zonians,  includes  a  great  number  of  various  nr- 
tribes,  mostly  in  the  upper  status  of  ■«®«™"i*- 
savagery,  ranging  along  the  banks  of  the  Amazon 
and  its  tributaries ;  about  their  ethnology  very  lit- 
tle is  known.  Much  better  defined  is  the  third  or 
Tupi-Guarani  group,  extending  over  the  vast  coun- 
trv  southward  from  the  Amazon  to  La  Plata.  This 
Wy  of  bribes,  speakiBg  a  common  stock  language, 
is  more  widely  diffused  than  any  other  in  Sou% 
America;  and  it  is  certain  that  within  the  area 
which  it  occupies  there  are  other  tribes  not  related 
to  it  and  not  yet  classified.  The  fourth  group  is 
merely  geographical,  and  includes  families  so  dif- 
ferent as  the  Pampas  Lidians  of  the  Argentine 
Republic,  the  inhabitants  of  Patagonia  and  Tierra 
del  Fnego,  and  the  brave  Araucanians  of  Chili.^ 

All  the  peoples  here  mentioned  were,  when  dis- 
covered, either  in  the  upper  status  of  savagery  or 
the  lower  status  of   barbarism,  and  to  many  of 

^  See  Eeane^s  eway  on  the  "Ethnography  and  Philologfj  of 
Ameriea,*'  appended  to  Bates's  Central  and  South  America^  2d  ed. 
London,  1882,  pp.  443^561. 


298  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

them  the  same  description  would  still  be  applicable. 
Lowest  of  all  were  the  Fuegians  and  some  of  the 
tribes  on  the  Amazon;  highest  of  all  were  the 
Arancanians,  with  their  habitat  on  the  western 
slope  of  the  Andes. 

The  whole  of  this  Pacific  slope,  from  the  coon- 
try  of  the  Araucanians  northward  to  that  of  our 
friends  the  Chibchas,  was  occupied  by  the  fam- 
ily of  QuichuarAymara  tribes,  since  commonly 
Q^j^^^y.  known  as  Peruvians.  These  tribes  were 
mAn  tribes,  probably  the  first  in  aU  America  to 
emerge  from  the  lower  status  of  barbarism,  and 
at  the  time  of  the  Discovery  they  had  approached 
much  nearer  to  the  formation  of  a  true  natiomdity 
than  any  others.  In  some  important  respects  they 
were  much  more  civilized  than  the  people  of  Mex- 
ico and  Central  America,  but  they  had  not  attained 
to  the  beginnings  of  true  civilization,  inasmuch  as 
they  had  neither  an  alphabet  nor  any  system  of 
hie^yphio  writing.  In  preserving  ^tions 
the  Peruvian  amautaa^  or  ^'  wise  men,"  were  aided 
by  a  queer  system  of  mnemonics  worked  out  by 
tying  complicated  knots  in  cords  of  divers  colours.^ 


^  Mr.  Tylor's  description  of  the  qmpus  is  so  good  thai  I 
not  do  better  than  insert  it  here  in  fnU:  — "When  a  £aiiiier^t 
daughter  ties  a  knot  in  her  handkerchief  to  remember  a  commis- 
sion at  market  by,  she  makes  a  rudimentary  ^w/m.  Dariiv 
made  one  when  he  took  a  thong  and  tied  azty  knot*  in  it,  and 
gaTe  it  to  the  chiefs  of  the  lonians,  that  they  might  nntie  a  knot 
each  day,  tiU,  if  the  knots  were  aU  undone  and  he  had  not  re- 
turned, they  might  go  back  to  their  own  land.  (Herodotoa,  it. 
9S.)  .  .  .  This  is  so  simple  a  device  that  it  may  hare  been  in* 
Tented  again  and  again.  ...  It  has  been  found  in  Asia  (Ermaa*! 
Sibmoy  I  492),  in  Africa   (Klemm^s  Odturffetduckie,  L  3^  in 


ANCIENT  PERU.  299 

These  knotted  cords,  or  quipus^  were  also  used  in 
keeping  accounts,  and  in  some  ways  they  were  curi- 

Mexico,  among  the  North  American  Indians  (Charleyoix,  vi.  151) ; 
but  Its  greatest  development  was  in  South  America."  The  Pe> 
niTian  quipu  consists  **  of  a  thick  main  cord,  with  thinner  cords 
tied  on  to  it  at  certain  distances,  in  which  the  knots  are  tied.  .  .  . 
The  cords  are  often  of  various  colours,  each  with  its  own  proper 
meaning ;  red  for  soldiers,  yellow  for  gold,  white  for  silver,  green 
for  com,  and  so  on.  This  knot-writing  was  especially  suited  for 
reckonings  and  statistical  tables;  a  single  knot  meant  ten,  a 
doable  one  a  hundred,  a  triple  one  a  thousand,  two  singles  side 
by  side  twenty,  two  doubles  two  hundred.  The  distances  of  the 
knots  from  the  main  cord  were  of  great  importance,  as  was  the 
sequence  of  the  branches,  for  the  principal  objects  were  placed 
on  the  first  branches  and  near  the  trunk,  and  so  in  decreasing 
Ofder.  This  art  of  reckoning  is  still  in  use  among  the  herdsmen 
of  the  Puna  (the  high  mountain  plateau  of  Peru),"  and  they  ez- 
pUuned  It  to  the  Swiss  naturalist  Tschudi  "  so  that  with  a  little 
trooUe  he  could  read  any  of  their  quipus.  On  the  first  branch 
they  usually  register  the  bulls,  on  the  second  the  cows,  these 
again  they  divide  into  milch  cows  and  those  that  are  dry ;  the 
next  branches  contain  the  calves,  according  to  age  and  sex,  then 
the  sheep  in  several  subdivisions,  the  number  of  foxes  killed,  the 
qnaotity  of  salt  used,  and  lastly  the  particulars  of  the  cattle 
that  have  died.  On  other  quipus  is  set  down  the  produce  of  the 
herd  in  milk,  cheese,  wool,  etc.  Each  heading  is  indicated  by  a 
special  colour  or  a  di£Perently  twined  knot.  It  was  in  the  same 
way  that  in  old  times  the  army  registers  were  kept;  on  one 
cord  the  slingers  were  set  down,  on  another  the  spearmen,  on  a 
third  those  with  clubs,  etc.,  with  their  officers;  and  thus  also  the 
accounts  of  battles  were  drawn  up.  In  each  town  were  special 
fnnctionarieB  whose  duty  was  to  tie  and  interpret  the  quipus; 
they  were  called  quipucamayocuna^  or  '  knot-officers.'  .  .  .  They 
were  seldom  able  to  read  a  quipu  without  the  aid  of  an  oral  com- 
mentary ;  when  one  came  from  a  distant  province,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  give  notice  with  it  whether  it  referred  to  census,  tribute, 
war,  etc.  .  .  .  They  carefully  kept  the  quipus  in  their  proper  de- 
partments, so  as  not,  for  instance,  to  mistake  a  tribute-cord  for 
one  relating  to  the  census.  ...  In  modem  times  all  the  attempts 
made  to  read  the  ancient  quipus  have  been  in  vain.  The  diffi- 
eulty  in  deciphering  them  is  very  great,  since  every  knot  indi- 


300  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

ously  analogous  on  the  one  hand  to  Indian  wam- 
pum belts  and  on  the  other  hand  to  the  tally-stieks 
used  in  old  times  by  officers  of  the  exchequer  in 
France  and  England.  Learned  Spaniards  were 
astonished  at  seeing  how  many  things  the  Peruvi- 
ans could  record  with  their  quipus.  Nevertheless, 
as  compared  with  hieroglyphics  even  as  rude  as 
those  of  Mexico,  these  knotted  cords  were  veiy 
inefficient  instruments  for  recording  knowledge. 
For  this  reason  the  historic  period  of  the  Peru- 
vian people  goes  but  a  short  distance  back  of  the 
Discovery.  All  lists  of  the  Incas  agree  in  begin- 
ning with  Manco  Capac ;  ^  and  there  is  practical 

cates  an  idea,  and  a  number  of  intennediate  notiom  are  left  oat. 
Bat  the  principal  impediment  is  the  want  of  the  oral  inf  ormation 
as  to  their  sabject-matter,  which  was  needful  even  to  the  moat 
learned  decipherers."  As  to  the  ancient  ose  of  the  guipu  in 
Mexico,  *'  Botarini  placed  the  fact  beyond  doubt  by  not  only 
finding  some  specimens  in  Tlasoala,  but  also  recording  their 
Mexican  name,  nepohuadtzitzin^  a  word  derived  from  the  verb 
tlapohuOf  *  to  count.'  (Boturini,  Idea  de  una  nueva  Historia,  etc, 
Madrid,  1746,  p.  85).  .  .  .  Quipua  are  found  in  the  Eastern 
Archipelago  and  in  Polynesia  proper,  and  they  were  in  use  in 
Hawaii  forty  years  ago,  in  a  form  seemingly  not  inf ^or  to  the 
most  elaborate  Peruvian  examples.  .  .  .  The  fate  of  the  qmpm 
has  been  everywhere  to  be  superseded,  more  or  less  entirely,  by 
the  art  of  writing.  .  .  .  When,  therefore,  the  Chinese  tell  us 
(Gk>guet,  Origine  dea  Lois,  etc,  torn.  iii.  p.  *322 ;  Mailla^  HUl.  gi- 
jtArale  de  la  Chine,  Paris,  1777,  tom.  i.  p.  4)  that  they  once  upcm  a 
time  used  this  contrivance,  and  that  the  art  of  writing  anperseded 
it,  the  analogy  of  what  has  taken  place  in  other  oonntriea  makes 
it  extremely  probable  that  the  tradition  is  a  true  one."  Tylor, 
Researches  into  the  Early  History  of  Mankind,  London,  1865,  pp. 
154-158.  See  also  Qarcilasso,  Comentarios  reales,  lib.  ii.  cap.  13 ; 
lib.  vi.  cap.  8,  9. 

^  The  pronunciation  of  this  name  is  more  correctly  indicated 
by  writing  it  Ccapac.  The  first  c  is  "  a  gfuttural  far  back  in  the 
throat;  the  second  on  the  roof  of  the  mouth.^*  Markham^s 
Quichva  Qrammar,  p.  17.  The  result  must  be  a  kind  of  gnttozal 
•lick. 


AyCIENT  PERU. 


aoi 


LiaUof  bioaa. 


unaniinity  as  to  the  names  and  order  of  succes- 
sion of  the  Incas.  But  when  we  come  to  dates 
for  the  earlier  names,  all  is  indefinite. 
!Maiioo  has  been  variously  placed  from 
the  eleventh  to  the  thirteenth  century,  the  later 
date  being  far  more  probable  than  the  earlier  if 
iMre  have  regard  for  the  ordinary  rules  of  human 
longevity.  The  first  Inca  whose  career  may  be 
considered  strictly  historical  is  Yiracocha,  whose 
reign  probably  began  somewhere  about  A.  D.  1380, 
or  a  century  and  a  half  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards  in  Peru.^  Moreover  throughout  the 
fifteenth  century,  while  the  general  succession  of 


^  The  following  list  of  the  Incaa  will  he  useful  for 

1.  Manco  Capao         ....        oir. 

2.  Sinohi  Rocca     . 

3.  Lloqne  Tapanqni  . 

4.  Mayta  Capao     • 

5.  Capao  Tupanqni 

6.  Inoa  Rocca 

7.  Tahuar-hnaocao 

8.  Viracocha cir. 

0.  Inca  Urco cir. 

10.  Pachacnteo  Inca  Tupanqni       .        .    cir. 

11.  Tupac  Tnpanqni    ....        cir. 

12.  Huayna  Capac oir. 

13.  Hnascar 

14.  Atahnalpa  (tuurper)  . 

15.  Manco  Capao  Ynpanqni 

16.  Sayri  Tupac 

17.  Cnsi  Titu  Tnpanqni 

18.  Tnpac  Amaru 


reference : 
1250? 


1380. 
1400. 
1400. 
1439. 
1475. 
1523. 
1532. 
1533. 
1544. 
1560. 
1571. 


The  last  Inca  reig^ned  only  a  few  months  and  was  heheaded  in 
1«}71-  This  list  in  the  main  foUows  that  of  Mr.  Markham  (Win- 
*or,  Narr,  and  Crit,  Hist.^  L  232),  hut  on  the  weighty  authority 
o£  Cieza  de  Leon  and  others  less  weighty  I  insert  the  name  of 
tike  Inca  Uroo,  whose  eyil  fortune,  presently  to  he  mentioned, 
no  Talid  reason  for  omitting  his  name  from  the  rolL 


302  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

events  is  quite  clear,  the  dates  are  much  less  pre- 
cise than  in  Mexico,  where  hieroglyphic  records 
were  kept. 

But  although  the  historic  period  for  Peru  dates 
no  farther  back  than  for  Mexico,  there  are  some 
reasons  for  supposing  that  if  the  whole  story  of 
the  semi-civilization  of  the  Incas  were  accessible, 
it  would  carry  us  much  farther  into  the  past  than 
anything  to  be  found  in  Mexico,  even  if  we  were 
to  accept  a  good  deal  of  what  has  been  imagined 
about  the  Toltecs  and  their  deeds,  and  other  pre- 
historic circumstances  in  the  land  of  the  Nahuas. 
,  ^  _  .        The  country  about  Lake  Titicaca,  the 

Lake  Titicaca.  ,  ,  •'  , 

traditional  cradle  of  Peruvian  cultui'e, 
is  in  some  respects  the  most  remarkable  spot  in 
the  New  World.  In  that  elevated  region,  of  which 
the  general  altitude  nearly  answers  to  that  of  such 
Alpine  summits  as  the  peak  of  the  Jungfrau,  but 
which  is  still  a  valley,  dominated  by  those  stupen- 
dous mountains,  Sorata  and  lUimani,  inferior 
only  to  the  highest  of  the  Himalayas,  there  are 
to  be  seen  remnants  of  cyclopean  architecture  at 
which  all  beholders,  from  the  days  of  the  first 
Spanish  visitors  down  to  our  own,  have  marvelled. 
These  works,  to  judge  fi'om  the  rude  carvings  upon 
them,  are  purely  American,  and  afford  no  ground 
for  the  notion  that  they  might  have  been  con- 
structed by  others  than  the  aboriginal  inhabitants 
of  the  New  World ;  but  they  certainly  imply  a 
greater  command  of  labour  than  is  to  be  inferred 
from  an  inspection  of  any  other  buildings  in  Amer- 
ica. These  cyclopean  structures,  containing  mon« 
oliths  which,  in  the  absence  of  beasts  of  burden. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  303 

must  have  required  large  companies  of  men  to 
move,  are  found  at  Tiahuanacu,  hard  by  Lake  Titi- 
caca ;  and  it  would  appear  that  to  this  Thibet  of  the 
New  World  we  must  assign  the  first  development 
of  the  kind  of  semi-civilization  that  the  Spaniards 
found  in  Peru.  According  to  one  of  the  foremost 
authorities,  Mr.  Clements  Markham,  an  extensive 
and  more  or  less  consolidated  empire  was  at  one 
time  governed  from  Tiahuanacu.  Peruvian  tra- 
dition handed  over  to  the  Spanish  historians  the 
names  of  sixty-five  kings  belonging  to  a  dynasty 
known  as  the  Piruas.  Allowing  an  av-  ^^  ^^  . 
erage  of  twenty  years  for  a  reign,  which  fi™*dynMty. 
is  a  fair  estimate,  these  sixty-five  kings  would 
cover  just  thirteen  centuries.^  As  there  was  a 
further  tradition  of  a  period  of  disintegration  and 
confusion  intervening  between  the  end  of  the  Pi- 
ma dynasty  and  the  time  of  Manco  Capac,  Mr. 
Markham  allows  for  this  interval  about  four  cen- 
turies. Then  the  series  of  sixty-five  Pirua  kings, 
ending  about  the  ninth  century  of  our  era,  would 
have  begun  in  the  fifth  century  before  Christ. 

In  such  calculations,  however,  where  we  are 
dealing  with  mere  lists  of  personal  names,  un- 
checked by  constant  or  frequent  reference  to  his- 
toric events  connected  with  the  persons,  the  chances 

^  The  50  English  soyereig^,  from  Egbert  to  William  IV.  in- 
cloaiTe  (omitting  the  Cromwells  as  covering  part  of  the  same 
time  as  Charles  IL,  and  counting  William  and  Mary  as  one) 
xeigned  1,009  years ;  almost  exactly  an  average  of  20  years.  The 
44  Prankish  and  French  kings,  from  Pepin  to  Louis  XVI.  in- 
elnsive  (omitting  Eudes  as  covering  time  otherwise  covered) 
reigned  1,042  years ;  an  average  of  nearly  24  years,  raised  by  the 
two  exceptionally  long  reigns  of  Lonis  XIV.  and  Louis  XV., 
whieh  eovered  131  yean. 


304  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

at  error  are  so  numeronB  as  to  leave  little  room 
for  confidence  in  the  conclusion.  One  is  much  in- 
clined to  doubt  whether  anything  can  properly  be 
said  to  be  known  about  the  so-called  Pirua  dynasty 
or  its  works.  It  b  customary  to  ascribe  the  so- 
called  fortress  on  the  Sacsahuaman  hill 

Ruins  on  the  11*         /^  a.      x.\^  1 

sacMhuanuui  Overlooking  Cuzco  to  the  same  people 
'^''  and  the  same  period  as  the   ruins  of 

Tiahuanacu ;  but  according  to  Cieza  de  Leon,  the 
most  careful  and  critical  of  the  early  Spanish 
writers  on  Peru,^  this  great  building  was  begun  in 

^  *'  The  work  of  Pedro  de  CSeza  de  Leon,"  says  Mr.  MarUiam, 
"  is,  in  many  rrapeets,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  literary  pn>* 
duotions  of  the  age  of  Spanish  conquest  in  America^  Written  by 
a  man  who  had  passed  his  life  in  the  camp  from  early  boyhood, 
it  is  conceived  on  a  plan  which  would  have  done  credit  to  the 
most  thoughtful  scholar,  and  is  executed  with  care,  judgment, 
and  fidelity." 

Cieza  de  Leon  was  probably  bom  in  Seville  aboat  1519,  and 
died  about  1500.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  came  to  the  New 
World,  and  remained  until  1550,  and  in  the  course  of  these  seven- 
teen years  of  very  active  service  he  visited  almost  every  historie 
point  in  western  South  America  from  Darien  to  PotosL  In  1541 
he  began  keeping  a  journal,  which  formed  the  basis  of  his 
**  Chronicle,"  of  which  the  first  i>art  was  published  at  Seville  in 
1553,  and  dedicated  to  the  prince  afterwards  Philip  II.  In  the 
dedication  Cieza  says, "  The  attempt  savours  of  temerity  in  so  nn- 
leamed  a  man,  but  others  of  more  learning  are  too  much  occu- 
pied in  the  wars  to  write.  Oftentimes,  when  the  other  soldiers 
were  reposing,  I  was  tiring  myself  by  vrriting.  Neither  fatigue 
nor  the  ruggedness  of  the  country,  nor  the  mountains  and  rivers, 
nor  intolerable  hunger  and  suffering,  have  ever  been  sofficient  to 
obstruct  my  two  duties,  namely,  writing  and  following  my  Hag 
and  my  captain  without  fault.  .  .  .  Much  that  I  have  written  I 
saw  with  my  own  eyes,  and  I  travelled  over  many  eonntries  in 
order  to  learn  more  concerning  them.  Those  things  which  I  did 
not  see,  I  took  great  pains  to  inform  myself  of,  from  persons  of 
good  repute,  both  Christians  and  Indians.^*  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  he  took  great  pains.    For  minuteness  of  obaervatioa 


ANCIENT  PEBU.  805 

the  time  of  Pachacutec,  and  continued  under  Us 
successors,  Tupac,  Huayna,  and  Huascar,  so  that 

and  accuracy  of  statement  his  book  is  extraordinary.     Whereyer 
he  went  he  was  careful  to  describe  the  topography  of  the  country, 
its  roads  and  ruined  buildings,  the  climate,  vegetation,  ftnimftlg 
tame  and  wild,  the  manners  and  occupations  of  the  people,  and 
their  beliefs  and  traditions.    Along  with  the  instincts  of  a  modem 
naturalist  he  had  the  critical  faculty  and  sifted  his  authorities  in 
a  way  that  was  unusual  in  his  time.     He  had  also  an  eye  for  the 
glorious  beauty  of  the  landscape.     He  was  eminently  honourable 
and  humane,  and  strongly  oondenmed  the  atrocities  so  often  com- 
mitted by  the  Spaniards.     While  his  book  is  thus  in  many  re- 
spects modem  in  spirit  and  method,  it  is  full  of  the  oldtime 
quaintness.    Where  a  modem  writer,  for  example,  in  order  to 
explain  similarities  in  the  myths  and  heathen  customs  of  different 
parts  of  the  world,  would  have  recourse  in  some  cases  to  the 
hypothesis  of  a  community  of  tradition  and  in  other  cases  to  the 
general  similarity  of  the  workings  of  the  human  mind  under  sim- 
ilar conditions,  Gieza,  on  the  other  hand,  is  at  once  ready  with  an 
unimpeachable  explanation ;   the  similarity  simply  shows  that 
"  the  Deyil  manages  to  deceive  one  set  of  people  in  the  same  way 
as  he  does  another.*'     At  one  time  Cieza  served  in  New  Ghranada 
iroder  a  certain  Robledo,  who  was  shockingly  cruel  to  the  natives 
and  caused  many  to  be  torn  in  pieces  by  bloodhounds ;  afterwards, 
in  visiting  the  scene  of  some  of  his  worst  actions,  Robledo  was 
arrested  for  insubordinate  conduct,  and  hanged,  and  his  body 
was  cooked  and  eaten  by  the  natives.     Wherefore,  says  Cieza, 
after  teUing  of  his  evil  deeds,  *'  Gkxl  permitted  that  he  should  be 
sentenced  to  death  in  the  same  place,  and  have  for  his  tomb  the 
beUies  of  Indians." 

The  plan  of  Cieza's  great  work,  as  announced  in  his  prologue, 
was  a  noble  one :  •— 

"  Part  L  The  divisions  and  description  of  the  provinces  of 
Peru. 
Part  IL  The  government,  gfreat  deeds,  origin,  policy,  build- 
ings, and  roads  of  the  Incas. 
Part  IIL  Discovery  and  conquest  of  Peru  by  Pizarro,  and 

rebellion  of  the  Indians. 
Part  IV.  Book  i.  War  between  Pizarro  and  Almag^ra 
Book  ii.  War  of  the  young  Almagro. 
Book  iii.  The  civil  war  of  Quito. 
Book  iv.  War  of  Huarina. 
Book  V.  War  of  Xaquixaguana. 


306  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

the  work  was  apparently  still  going  on  when  the 
Spaniards  arrived.  Precisely  the  same  account  of 
the  matter  is  given  by  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  who 
must  be  regarded  as  an  authority  scarcely  less  im- 
portant than  Cieza  de  Leon.     Garcilasso  says  thai 

Commentary  I,  EreDts  from  the  founding  of  the  Andienoe  to 

the  departure  of  the  President. 

Commentary  IL  Events  to  the  arriyal  of  the  Viceroy  Mendoo.** 
The  first  of  these  parts,  as  already  ohserred,  was  published  at 
Seville  in  1553 ;  it  has  been  reprinted  several  times  and  trans- 
lated into  other  languages.    Part  11.  remained  in  manuscript 
until  1873 ;  it  was  dedicated  to  Dr.  Jnan  Sarmiento,  who  was  for 
a  short  time  President  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  but  was  never 
in  America.    At  the  beginning  of  his  manuscript  Ciexa  says  it  is 
for  ipara)  Dr.  Sarmiento.     By  one  of  those  curious  slips  which 
the  wisest  are  liable  to  make,  Mr.  Prescott,  who  used  this  manu- 
script, translated  para  as  if  it  were  par  (by),  and  assumed  that 
Sarmiento  was  the  writer.     Mr.  Prescott  hardly  knew  which 
author  most  to  admire,  Sarmiento  or  Cieza  I  but  we  now  know 
that  his  praise,  bestowed  upon  both,  belongs  wholly  to  the  latter. 
Part  III.  and  the  first  two  books  of  Part  IV.  are  not  yet  to  be  ob- 
twned.    We  are  assured  by  Don  Ximenez  de  Espada  that  he 
knows  where  the  manuscript  is,  though  he  has  not  seen  it.    The 
manuscript  oi  the  third  book  of  Part  IV.  is  in  the  Royal  library 
at  Madrid ;  a  copy  of  it  found  its  way  in  1849  into  the  hands  of 
the  late  Mr.  James  Lenox,  of  New  York,  who  paid  $3,000  for  it. 
It  was  at  leng^  edited  by  Espada,  and  published  at  Madrid  in 
1877.    The  fourth  and  fifth  books  of  Part  IV.  and  the  two  com- 
mentaries were  completed  by  Cieza  de  Leon  before  his  death,  but 
whether  they  are  in  existence  or  not  is  not  known.     Perhaps  we 
may  yet  be  so  fortunate  as  to  recover  the  whole  of  this  magnificent 
work,  which  ranks  indisputably  foremost  among  the  sources  of  in- 
formation concerning  ancient  Peru.    The  first  two  parts  have  been 
translated  into  English,  and  edited,  with  learned  not^  and  in- 
troducdous,  by  Mr.  Clements  Markham,  to  whom  I  am  indebted 
for  this  sketch  of  tlie  strange  vicissitudes  of  the  book.  See  liark- 
ham,  The  Travels  of  Cieza  de  Leon^  contained  in  the  First  Part  of 
his  Chronicle  of  Peru,  London,  1864 ;    The  Second  P<xrt  of  tht 
Chronicle  of  Peru,  London,  1883  (both  published  by  the  Haklnyt 
Society). 


ANCIENT  PERU.  307 

the  fortress  was  fifty  years  in  building  and  was  not 
finished  until  the  reign  of  Hiiayna  Ca- 
pac,  if  indeed  it  could  properly  be  stud  c\tt^ni 
to  have  been  finished  at  alL     *' These 
works,"    says    GarcilasBo,    "with    many    others 
throoghout  the  empire,  were  cut  short  by  the  civil 
wars  which  broke  out  soon  aftei^ards  between  the 
two  brothers  Huascar  Inca  and  Atahualpa,  in  whose 
time  the  Spaniards  arrived  and  destroyed  every- 
thing ;  and  so  all  the  unfinished  works  remain  un- 
finished to  this  day."  ^     It  has  become  fashionable 

'  Comp&re  QuiciLuao,  Royal  Commentariet,  ed.  Markhuo, 
ToL  ii.  p.  318,  -with  Markham'*  Cien  de  Leon,  vol.  ii.  p.  103.  The 
father  of  tlie  hutoriaii  Osrcilasio  Iiica  de  Is  "Vega  belonged  to 
one  of  the  most  diatuiguuhed  familiea  of  Spain.  In  I5SI,  beinf 
tlwQ  twenty-five  jean  old,  he  vent  to  Qnatemala  and  served 
mtder  Pedio  de  Alvsrado  as  a  eaptain  of  infantry.  When  Alva- 
lado  inraded  Pern  in  1534,  bnt  consented  to  retire  and  left  a 
great  part  of  hie  force  behind  him  (see  below,  p.  40S),  the  cap- 
tain GaicilasM  vas  one  of  thoee  that  were  left.  For  eminent 
military  services  hs  received  from  Pizarro  a  fine  honse  in  Cnico 
and  othet  apcdls.  In  1&3S  be  was  married  to  Chimpa  Ocllo,  bap- 
tii«d  as  DoHa  Isabel,  a  granddaughter  of  the  great  Inca  Tapao 
Tnpaoqni.  Mr.  Harkham  inf  ormg  ng  that  "  a  contemporary  pio- 
tim  of  this  princeu  Mill  axista  at  Cnzco  —  a  delicate  looking  giri 
with  large  gentle  eyes  and  sUghtly  aqniline  nose,  long  blaok 
ti cases  banging  over  het  shoulden,  and  a  richly  ornamented 
wof^en  mantle  aecnred  in  front  bj  a  large  gold  pin."  The  Inoa 
Osrcilasao  de  la  Vega,  son  of  this  marri^e,  was  bom  in  Cnzco 
in  1540.  He  was  carefully  edneaCed  by  an  excellent  Spanish 
prie4,  and  became  a  good  scholar.  His  father,  one  of  the  most 
honourable  and  high-minded  of  the  Spanish  cnvaliera,  was  made 
governor  of  Cozco,  and  his  home  was  a  place  where  Spaniards 
and  Incas  were  hospitably  entertained.  From  infancy  the  young 
OarcilaaaD  spoke  both  Spaniah  and  Quichna,  and  while  he  was 
learning  Latin  and  studying  Eoropean  history,  his  mother  and 
her  friends  were  steeping  him  In  Peruvian  traditions.  At  about 
the  age  of  twelve  he  lost  this  gentle  mother,  and  in  15B0  his  gnl- 
Uot  father  also  died.     Garailasso  then  went  to  Spain  and  served 


308  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

in  recent  times  to  discredit  this  testimony  of  Grard- 
lasso  and  Cieza,  on  the  ground  of  their  want  of 
extensive  archaeological  knowledge ;  bat  it  seems 
to  me  that  in  this  case  scepticism  is  carried  rather 
too  far.  Grarcilasso  was  great-great-grandson  of 
the  Inca  Pachacotec  under  whom  the  work  at 
Sacsahnaman  is  said  to  have  begun,  and  his  state- 
ments as  to  the  progress  of  that  work  which  went 
on  until  it  was  stopped  by  the  civil  war  between 
his  mother's  cousins  Huascar  and  Atahualpa  are 
too  nearly  contemporaneous  to  be  lightly  set  aside, 
especially  when    independently   confirmed   by  so 

for  aome  yean  in  the  army.  After  retuing  from  the  senrioe, 
somewhere  from  1570  to  1575,  he  settled  in  CordoTa  and  deroted 
himself  to  literary  porsaits  nntil  his  death  in  1616.  His  tomb  is 
in  the  cathedral  at  Cordova.  Besides  other  books  Gbroilaaso  Inoa 
¥rrote  The  RoycU  Commentaries  of  the  Inctu,  in  two  parts,  the 
first  of  which,  treating  of  the  history  and  antiquities  of  Pent 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  was  published  at  lisboo  in 
1609 ;  the  second  part,  treating  of  the  conquest  of  Pern  and  the 
civil  wars  of  the  conquerors,  was  published  at  Cordova  in  1616. 
There  have  been  several  editions  and  translations  in  various 
languages.  An  English  translation  of  the  first  part,  by  Mr. 
Clements  Markham,  has  been  published  by  the  Hakluyt  Society, 
London,  1869,  2  vols.  Garcilasso^s  unrivalled  opportunities  for 
gathering  information,  and  his  excellent  use  of  them,  give  to  his 
book  an  authority  superior  to  all  others  except  that  of  Cieza  de 
Leon,  and  Qarcilasso  was  better  able  than  the  latter  to  understand 
the  Peruvian  view  of  the  situation.  He  often  quotes  from  Cieza, 
and  always  with  high  respect.  His  book  is  at  onoe  learned  and 
charming ;  its  tone  is  kindly  and  courteous,  like  the  talk  of  a 
thoroughbred  gentleman.  One  cannot  read  it  without  a  strong 
feeling  of  affection  for  the  writer. 

Throughout  this  chapter  —  except  in  a  few  cases,  where  it 
seems  desirable  to  give  the  Spanish  —  I  cite  from  Mr.  Mark- 
ham*s  version  of  Qarcilasso  and  Cieza ;  but,  as  I  cite  by  book  and 
ehapter,  instead  of  volume  and  page,  the  references  are  eqoallj 
convenient  for  any  edition  or  vendoo. 


ANCIENT  PBBV.  809 

careful  an  inquirer  as  Cieza.  This*  testimony  is 
positive  that  the  cyclopean  architecture  at  Sacsa- 
hoaman  was  the  work  of  recent  Incas.  With  Tia- 
huanaca  the  case  may  be  quite  different.  Garci- 
lasso,  indeed,  in  giving  the  names  of  the  four 
chief  architects  who  were  successively  employed 
at  Sacsahuaman,  lets  drop  the  remarkable  state- 
ment, "  The  third  was  Acahuana  Inca,  to  whom 
is  also  attributed  a  great  part  of  the  edifices  at 
Tiabuanacu."  *  But  in  another  place  Garcilasso 
quotes  without  dissent  the  statement  of  Cieza  that 
contemporary  Peruviana  believed  the  buildings  at 
Tiabuanacu  to  be  much  older  than  the  Sacsahua- 
man  fortress,  and  indeed  that  the  recent  Incas 
built  the  latter  work  in  emulation  of  the  former.^ 
So,  perhaps,  in  bis  remark  about  the  architect 
Acabuana  having  superintended  the  works  at  Tia- 
buanacu, GarcilasBo'a  memory,  usually  so  strong 
and  precise,^  may  for  once  have  tripped.  It  might 
&il  to  serve  him  about  works  at  distant  Lake  Titi- 
caca,  but  such  a  slip,  if  it  be  one,  should  not  dis- 
credit his  testimony  as  to  the  great  edifice  near 
Cuzco,  about  the  stones  of  which  he  had  often 
played  with  his  Spanish  and  Peruvian  schoolfel- 
lows, regarding  them  as  the  work  of  his  mother's 
immediate  ancestors. 

Assuming  as  correct  the  statement  in  which 
Garcilasso  and  Cieza  agree,  that  the  Incas  of  the 

*  Oarcilauo,  lib.  vii.  cap.  nix. 

*  Cieza,  pt.  i  cap.  ct.  ;  Qarcilaaw),  lib.  iii.  op.  I. 

'  He  ofton  obserrea,  with  winning  modeat?,  tliat  it  is  eo  long 
Slice  be  left  P«ra  that  his  memory  may  deceive  him ;  bat  in 
rach  oaHfl,  wheDeTor  we  cau  bring  other  eTidemw  ta  bwT  the 
dear  old  fellow  tnnu  out  almoet  iuTuiably  to  be  conect- 


810  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

fifteenth  century  built  the  Sacsahnaman  fortress 
in  emulation  of  the  ancient  structures  at  Tiahua- 
nacu,  in  order  to  show  that  they  could  equal  or 
surpass  the  mighty  works  of  by-gone  ages,  it  must 
be  acknowledged  that  they  were  successful.  Sac- 
sahuaman  is,  according  to  Mr.  Markham,  *^  with- 
out comparison  the  grandest  monument  of  an 
ancient  civilization  in  the  New  World. .  Like  the 
Pyramids  and  the  Coliseum,  it  is  imperishable."  * 

If  this  colossal  building  could  have  been  erected 
under  the  later  Incas,  it  is  clearly  imnecessary  to 
suppose  for  the  works  at  Tiahuanacu  any  intru- 
sive agency  from  the  Old  World,  or  any  condition 
of  society  essentially  different  from  that  into  which 
the  mother  of  the  historian  Garcilasso  Inca  was 
bom.  This  style  of  building  will  presently  furnish 
us  with  an  instructive  clue  to  the  state  of  Peruvian 
society  in  the  century  preceding  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards.  Meanwhile  there  is  no  occasion  for 
supposing  any  serious  break  in  the  continuity  of 
events  in  prehistoric  Peru.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose  that  the  semi-civilization  of  the  Incas  was 
preceded  by  some  other  semi-civilization  distinct 
from  it  in  character.  As  for  the  Pirua  dynasty  of 
sixty-five  kings,  covering  a  period  of  thirteen  cen- 
turies, it  does  not  seem  likely  that  the  ^^  wise  men  " 
of  Cieza^s  time,  with  their  knotted  strings,  could 

^  Winsor,  Xcarr.  and  Criu  Hist.^  toI.  i.  p.  221.  Cf.  Sqnier's  re- 
marks, in  his  Peru :  Incidents  of  Travel  and  Exploration  in  the 
Land  of  tke  Ineas,  New  York,  1877.  p.  470:  —  **Tha  heaTiest 
woriu  of  the  fortren  .  .  .  remais  anbstantially  perfect,  and  wiU 
remain  so  ...  as  long:  *>  the  Pjimmids  shall  last,  or  Stonehenfre 
and  the  Colosaenm  shall  endore.  for  it  is  only  with  those  works 
that  the  Fortress  of  the  Saosahoaman  can  be  properly  compared.* 


ANCIENT  PMBU.  811 

have  preserved  any  trustworthy  testimony  as  to 
such  a  period. 

Without  assuming,  however,  any  historical  know- 
ledge of  the  times  that  preceded  the  rule  of  the 
Incas,  we  have  other  grounds  for  believing  that 
the  Peruvian  culture  was  much  older  than  that  of 
the  Mexicans  and  Mayas.  In  other  words,  the 
Peruvians  had  probably  attained  to  the  middle 
status  of  barbarism  at  a  much  earlier  date  than  the 
Mexicans  and  Mayas,  and  had  in  many  striking 
features  approached  nearer  to  civilization  than  the 
latter.  First,  we  may  note  that  the  Peruvians 
were  the  only  American  aborigines  that  Domerticated 
ever  domesticated  any  other  animal  than  """^ 
the  dog.  The  llama^  developed  from  the  same 
stock  with  the  wild  huanacu^  is  a  yery  useful 
beast  of  burden,  yielding  also  a  coarse  wool ;  and 
the  alpaca^  developed  from  the  ancestral  stock  of 
the  wild  vicunOy  is  of  great  value  for  its  fine  soft 
fleece.^  While  the  huanacu  and  vicuna  are  to-day 
as  wild  as  chamois,  the  llama  is  as  thoroughly 
domesticated  as  cows  or  sheep,  while  the  alpaca 
lias  actually  become  unable  to  live  without  the 
care  of  man;  and  Mr.  Markham  argues,  with 
much  force,  that  such  great  variation  in  these  ani- 
mals implies  the  lapse  of  many  centuries  since 
men  first  began  to  tame  them.  A  similar  infer- 
ence is  drawn  from  the  facts  that  while  the  ancient 
Peruvians  produced  several  highly  cultivated  varie- 
ties of  maize,  that  cereal  in  a  wild  state  is  un- 

^  Darwin,  Variation  of  Animals  and  Plants  under  DomesticO' 
tion,  London,  186S,  vol.  ii.  p.  208.  These  four  species  belong  to 
'the  genus  auchenia  of  the  family  camelida. 


SIS  THK  DIHCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

kiuiwn  in  thttir  eoimtry ;  ^  die  PemTian  species  6lt 
\\\»  voiUm  pluut  oImo  is  known  only  nnder  cnknr»- 
tion.  The  potato  is  foond  wild  in  Qiili, 
ftuii  probably  in  Pern,  as  a  very  insignif- 
\^m\t  tsttlNir.  But  the  Pemvians,  after  cultivating 
It  fur  oanturien,  increased  its  size  and  prodnced  a 
Ifreat  uumb»r  of  edible  varieties.'*  ^  Now  the  wild 
potato  skeins  to  be  a  refractory  v^etable.  There 
U  a  variety  in  Mexico,  no  bigger  than  a  nnt,  and 
mhIuIoiis  efforts,  kept  up  during  many  years^  to  in- 
(treanD  it*  siae  and  improve. its  quality,  have  proved 
f Mlilct ;  from  which  Mr.  Markham  reascmably  infen 
thai  the  high  state  of  perfection  to  whidi  the  Pe- 
ruvians brought  the  potato  indicates  a  veii 
ttiderable  lapse  of  time  since  they  began  to 
upon  its  wild  ancestral  form.' 

•W  ( V»f,  UiM.,  I  :)ia.  At  for  maiw,  Mr.  Dteirai  iwoiii  «b»  ^ 
Ut  tJuiH^  m\\\k  MtndrT  vpfG/tm  of  reeott  wtm  Jbtlh>  ^m  r^  «hbc  a£ 
IVru.  **«iiiW4kM  ilk  a  b^eb  vkieli  hmk 

(A^i9<rriM|i4MU  *m  SmtlA  America^  Loadkia.  !>•&  ft  4B^ 

*  i'Vuft  «W  I^MMi  (f4.  L  c«i|k  xL>  dwCTiKo  iW  nifiii  as  "^^  a  ic 
«f  Murtk  AMI,  «luirli«  altiflr  it  Im»  Vmm  WAiJL  a»  js  !MiBi»i  xv  x 
»««i4^  y>wl»»l%  b«l  i%  Im»  m»  ijw  skza  tkan.  a  snAb.  mmt  ife 
||fw»  iMMWr  iW  <NMtk  ui  iW  wir  vat.    TB»  osoc  pnnfaMK  « 

I.^L  S^i\  liML  uL  ^  IU>;  Wm  Omir  <&MJaam  -*  iL 

9ftUi»  vW  Awfciwr  <^tt^«Ui»  w  mm  Mi^:«Hu»  «lii  Fdknv.**  \3ittotrr  -it* 

9n»m.'^  iMtwJtKk  IHtw^  ISJI.  |k  1>0k     Ftutfatfr   immii  ii     ■mi 

y«>ftayiv  n»c7  £ic  fwm  FVc^  btts  iguinm  tu  tiim  Ouliw  ^«>  3«iiTUK 
«€V^id»»idaiB0Hr  vital  OAaiaik    Uto 


ANCIENT  PERU.  813 

In  cultivating  such  vegetables  the  Peruvians 
practised  irrigation  on  an  extensive  scale,  and  had 

anywhere  north  of  the  isthnnia  of  Daiien.  The  ships  of  Raleigh's 
expedztion,  returning  from  Albemarle  sound  in  1586,  carried  the 
first  potatoes  to  Ireland  (Beckmann,  Grundsdtze  der  teutschen 
Landwirthsckafi,  1806,  p.  289),  and  in  Qeiarde's  HerhaU,  pub- 
lished in  1597,  these  yegetables  were  called  "  Yiiginia  potatoes ;  " 
whence  it  is  sometimes  said  that  Raleigh^  s  people  "  found  pota- 
toes ii^  Yiiginia.*'  But  that  is  highly  improbable.  As  Hum- 
boldt says,  potatoes  were  common  all  oyer  the  West  Indies  before 
1580,  and  had  eyen  found  their  way  into  the  gardens  of  Spain  and 
Italy.  In  1586  Lane's  party  .of  Raleigh's  people,  a  hundred  or 
more  in  number,  liad  been  staying  for  a  year  upon  Roanoke 
island,  where  they  had  hoped  to  found  a  colony.  They  were 
terribly  short  of  food,  when  all  at  once  Sir  Francis  Drake  arriyed 
from  the  West  Indies  and  brought  them  a  supply  of  proyisions, 
with  which  ihey  prudently  decided  to  go  home  to  England.  £yi- 
dently  their  potatoes,  which  were  planted  on  an  estate  o(  Raleigh's 
in  Ireland,  did  not  come  froxn  **  Virginia,"  bui  from  the  West 
Indies.  The  potato  was  yery  slow  in  coming  into  general  use  in 
Europe.  It  was  not  raised  on  an  extensiye  scale  in  Lancashire 
until  about  1684 ;  it  was  first  introduced  into  Saxony  in  1717,  into 
SocUand  in  1728,  into  Prussia  in  1738  (cf .  Humboldt,  op.  dt.  torn. 
liL  p.  120).  It  has  been  said  that  potatoes  were  first  made  known 
in  France  about  1600  by  the  celebrated  botanist  Charles  de  L^- 
cluse  (Legprand  d'Aussy,  HUu  de  la  vie  privie  dee  Fran^aisy 
torn.  i.  p.  143) ;  but  they  certainly  did  not  begin  to  come  into 
general  use  among  the  people  till  just  before  the  Reyolution.  A 
yery  graphic  account  of  their  introduction  into  Alsace  from  Han- 
oyer  is  giyen  in  that  charming  story  of  Erckmann-Ghatrian,  His- 
toire  d^un  paysan,  tom.  i.  pp.  54r-83.  They  were  at  first  received 
with  cries  of  "  k  bos  les  racines  du  Hanoyre  I  "  and  a  report  was 
spread  that  persons  had  been  seized  with  leprosy  after  eating 
them ;  so  for  a  while  people  kept  aloof  from  them  until  it  was 
learned  that  the  king  had  them  on  his  table ;  '^  alors  tout  Is 
monde  youlut  en  ayoir."  This  account  of  the  matter  is  strictly 
correct.  See  the  works  of  Parmentier,  Examen  chimique  des 
pommes  de  terre^  Paris,  1773 ;  Reckerches  sur  les  v/g4taux  nourris" 
sarUs,  Paris,  1781 ;  TrcUti  sur  la  ctUtwe  des  pommes  de  terre^  Paris, 
1789.  Parmentier  was  largely  instrumental  in  introducing  the 
potato.    Accurate  statistics  are  giyen  in  Arthur  Young's  Travels 


814  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

from  time  immemorial  been  accustomed  to  use 
guano  as  manure.^  By  right  of  such  carefiil  and 
methodical  agriculture,  as  well  as  by  right  of  hav- 
ing domesticated  animals  for  other  purposes  than 
hunting,  the  ancient  Peruvians  had  entered  upon 
the  middle  period  of  barbarism,  and  evidently  at  a 
much  earlier  date  than  any  other  known  people 
of  aboriginal  America.  At  the  time  of  the  Dis- 
covery an  unknown  number  of  centuries  had 
elapsed  since  the  general  condition  of  these  people 
had  begun  to  be  that  which  characterized  the 
middle  period  of  barbarism  in  North  America. 
The  interval  was  no  doubt  long  enough  for  very 
remarkable  social  changes  to  have  taken  place, 
and  in  point  of  fact  such  changes  had  taken  place. 
Yet,  as  already  observed,  true  civilization,  in  the 
sense  in  which  we  have  agreed  with  Mr.  Morgan 
to  understand  it,  had  not  been  attained  by  people 
who  could  record  events  only  by  quipus.  Nor 
had  Peruvian  society  acquired  the  characteristic 
features  which  in  the  Old  World  marked  the  upper 
period  of  barbarism,  the  stage  reached  by  the  He- 
brew patriarchs  and  the  conquerors  of  Troy. 
Though  iron  mines  were  at  hand,  the  Peruvians 
did  not  know  how  to  work  the  ore.^     Their  axes, 

in  France^  2d  ed.,  Bury  St.  Edmuuds,  1794,  2  vols.  4io,  vol.  i. 
p.  77. 

For  further  mention  of  the  Pemvian  potato,  see  Ulloa,  Voyage 
to  South  America^  London,  1772,  vol.  i.  p.  287;  Tschudi,  Travels 
in  Peru,  London,  1847,  pp.  178, 308,  386.  The  importance  of  the 
study  of  cultivated  plants  in  connection  with  the  early  history  of 
mankind  receives  some  illustration  in  Ilumholdt^s  Essai  atar  la 
giographie  des  plantes^  Paris,  1805. 

^  Cieza,  pt.  i.  cap.  Ixxr. ;  Garcilaaso,  lih.  v.  cap.  iiL 

^  Garcilasso,  lib.  ii.  cap.  xxviii. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  816 

gimlets,  cliisels,  and  knives  were  of  bronze  ;  ^  they 

had  no  tongs  or  bellows,  and  no  nails, 

in  lieu  of  which  they  fastened  pieces  of 

wood  together  with  thongs.^      Their  ploughs  were 

made  of  a  hard  wood,  and  were  commonly  pulled 

through  the  ground  by  men,  though  now  and  then 

llamas  may  have  been  employed.^ 

In  another  respect  the  Peruvians  lacked  the 
advantages  which  in  the  Old  World  gave  to 
the  upper  period  of  barbarism  some  of  its  most 
profoundly  important  characteristics.  We  have 
seen  that  in  the  eastern  hemisphere  the  middle 
period  was  the  time  when  horses  were  tamed  to 
men's  uses  and  great  herds  of  kine  were  kept. 
This  was  not  only  a  vast  enlargement  of  men's 
means  of  subsistence,  affording  a  steady  diet  of 
meat  and  milk ;  it  not  only  added  greatly  to  men's 
control  of  mechanical  forces  by  enlisting  the  giant 
muscular  strength  of  horses  and  oxen  influence  of 
in  their  service ;  but  its  political  and  Si^ToiSSm 
social  consequences  were  far-reaching.  ^  ^^^^y- 
In  the  absence  of  a  pastoral  life,  the  only  possible 
advance  out  of  a  hunting  stage,  with  incipient 
horticulture,  into  any  higher  stage,  was  along  the 
line  of  village  conmiunities  like  those  of  Iroquois 
or  Mandans  into  pueblo-houses  and  pueblo-towns 
like  those  of  Zu&is  and  Aztecs.  The  clan  must 
remain  the  permanent  unit  of  organization,  because 
the  inchoate  family  could  not  acquire  strength 
enough  to  maintain  a  partial  independence.      It 

^  Markham's  Cieza^  p.  xxviiL 

^  GarcilassOf  lib.  vi.  cap.  iv. 

*  Garcilasso,  lib.  y.  eap.  ii. ;  see  also  above,  toL  i.  p.  62. 


816  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

could  not  release  itself  from  the  compact  oommu- 
nal  organization  without  perishing  from  lack  of 
the  means  of  subsistence  and  defence.  But  in  a 
pastoral  society  the  needs  of  pasturage  extended 
the  peacef  111  occupations  of  the  clan  over  a  consid- 
erable territory ;  and  the  inchoate  family,  with  its 
male  chief,  his  underling  warrior  herdsmen  and 
his  horses  and  cattle,  coiild  maintain  itself  in  a 
partial  isolation  which  would  have  been  impossi- 
ble in  a  society  of  mere  hunters,  or  of  hunters  and 
primitive  corn-growers,  with  no  helping  animal 
but  the  dog.  Life  came  to  be  more  successfully 
conducted  in  scattered  tents  than  in  the  conmmnal 
household.  Thus  there  grew  up  a  tendency  to 
relax  or  break  down  the  compact  communal  organ- 
ization ;  the  primeval  clan,  based  upon  the  tie  of  a 
common  maternal  descent,  declined  in  authority, 
and  the  family  of  patriarchal  type  became  the 
most  important  imit  of  society.  In  course  of 
time  a  metamorphosis  was  wrought  in  the  structure 
of  the  clan;  it  came  to  be  a  group  of  closely- 
related  patriarchal  families,  and  such  is  the  sort  of 
clan  we  find  in  Old  World  history,  for  the  most 
part,  from  the  days  of  Esau  to  those  of  Rob  Boy. 
One  phase  of  the  growing  independence  of  cow- 
keeping  patriarchal  families,  and  of  the  loosening  of 
the  primitive  communal  clan  organizations,^  was  the 
rapid  and  masterful  development  of  the  notion  of 
private  property .    The  earliest  instance  of  property 

^  As  a  general  rule  social  progress  has  lieen  achioTed  thzongh 
snccessiye  tightenmg^  and  loosenings  of  sundry  forms  of  social  or 
political  organization,  the  proper  condition  of  development  being 
neither  anarchy  nor  despotic  rigidity,  but  plastic  mobility.  Ses 
my  Co$mic  Philosophy,  part  11.  ohanp.  zx. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  317 

on  a  large  scale,  which  was  not  the  common  pos- 
session of  a  clan,  but  the  private  posses-  p^^^^ 
sion  of  a  family  represented  by  its  patri-  JJJy  (^^^ 
archal  head,  was  property  in  cattle.  Of 
very  litde  save  his  blanket  and  feathers,  his  toma- 
hawk and  his  string  of  scalps,  could  the  proudest 
Indian  sachem  say  ^^  it  is  mine ; "  of  nothing  that 
was  part  of  the  permanent  stock  of  food  could  he 
say  as  much,  for  it  all  belonged  to  the  clan  ;  and 
his  own  official  importance  was  simply  that  of  a 
member  of  the  clan  council.  But  the  Arab  sheikh, 
as  head  of  a  patriarchal  group,  could  say  ^^  this 
family  is  mine,  and  these  are  my  cattle."  This 
early  preeminence  of  the  cow  as  private  property 
has  been  commemorated  in  the  numerous  Aryan 
words  for  money  and  wealth  derived  from  the 
name  of  that  animal.^ 

^  For  example,  in  fjatin,  pecus  is  "  herd,"  pecunia  is  "  money,'* 
pectdium  is  "  private  property,"  vhence  vre  have  peculiarity,  or 
''that  which  especiaUy  pertuns  to  an  individaal."  Sir  Henry 
Maine  sees  no  reason  for  donbting  the  story  "  that  the  earliest 
coined  money  known  at  Rome  was  stamped  with  the  figure  of  an 
oz  "  (Early  History  of  Institutions,  London,  1875,  p.  40).  Gothic 
faihu  =  Old  English  feoh  ^=  modem  German  Vieh  is  "  cow  ; "  in 
modem  English  the  same  word  /ee  is  '*  pecnniary  reward."  In 
Gaelic,  bosluag  is  ''herd  of  cows,"  and  hosluaiged  is  "riches." 
When  yon  go  to  a  tavern  to  dine  you  pay  your  shot  or  sa^  before 
leaving ;  or  perhaps  yon  get  into  a  ticklish  situation,  but  escape 
scot-free.  In  King  Alfred's  English  sceat  was  "  money,"  and  the 
Icelandic  skattr  and  Gothic  akatts  had  the  same  meaning ;  while  the 
same  word  in  Gbielic,  skatli,  means  "  herd,"  and  in  Old  Bulgarian, 
as  skotu,  it  means  "cow."  So  in  Sanskrit,  rvpa  is  "cow,"  and 
rupya  is  "  money,"  whence  we  have  the  modem  rupee  of  BengaL 
The  g^reat  importance  of  the  cow  in  early  Aryan  thought  is  shown 
not  only  by  the  multitude  of  synonyms  for  the  creature,  but  stiU 
more  strikingly  by  the  frequency  of  similes,  metaphors,  and 
myths  in  the  Vedas  in  which  the  cow  plays  a  leading  part. 


Jtt 8        TffB  j>tHCOviRT  or 

H^ivr  in  aiutumt  Pern  tibe 

play^  an  important  paxc^  bos  in 
^  Mm  m        wifM  <^omparaMe  to  one  taJBen  hj- 

*^  in  tti^  eaiitem  headsfbexB,  Onnph  and 
^h#i#^,  th^  lu^anmt  CMd  Worid  eqnhralaits  to  die 
llnmtk  mUI  sdp^a^  wrmid  be  fzr  from  ndeqnafte  to 
tb#»  InnHumn  that  hare  been  performed  bj  horses 
ami  C'^ywA.  Th(i  r^/ntrant,  moreorer,  was  not  merelj 
in  ibn  animalA,  \mt  in  the  geographical  eimdhiona. 
^Diif  valUiyff  and  platforms  of  the  Andes  did  not 
favour  thn  development  of  true  pastoral  life  like 
thii  vafit  nU^irpen  of  Scythia  or  the  plains  of  lower 
Aula.  Thi)  (lomoHtication  of  animals  in  ancient 
lV«rii  wan  a  powerfid  help  to  the  development  of 
a  Mialde  a)(riunltiind  community,  but  no  really  pas- 
toral  Ningo  of   Rocioty  was  reached  there.     The 

^  A(HMtnUii|r  to  GaroUfuiiio  the  llamas  gaT«  no  more  wSSk  tkaa 
wan  rM<|uir«M(  for  ih^ir  own  yonn^f,  and  were  therefore  Bot  avaO- 
aUlw  for  lUiry  |>ur)MMM4i  (lib,  viii.  cap.  zri.).  GareilaaBo  baa 
amUHitvg  rpntininoenoet  connected  with  tlie  introdactkH  of 
pean  anintalu  and  plants  into  Pern,  —  how  he 
M  \^  in  the  eqnare  at  Caaco,  how  his  father 
dimWy  in  t\icco  in  1.VS7,  how  he  was  aent 
liei|j(hhonT«  wi<h  dnhes  of  the  first  (rnHP««  that 
helped  himnelf  on  the  war,  how  he  saw  his 
fWend^  with  aaparafrm  ^nd  carrots  hot  f^et 
capa.  ii\)ii.,  Tix,«  XTT.«  xkxX  and  how  he  plaTvd 
Dfvl  hnlloeVm  at  work,  yoked  to  an  irosi  pl«^f:h 
arm\  of  Indians  took  me  to  see  them,  who 
ai«toni«iht>d  at  a  si(rht  eo  wonderfnl  and  wdvvI  l«r 
me.  l^T  «iaid  that  the  Spaniards  w«re  utc  sik 
that  tht^y  forced  thoee  |!Teat  animals  to  do 
1  remember  all  this  rerc  well.  Kecaose  mr  hs&irr 
Iccky  iN^m  me  a  llo^:^n|:  conwtiaf;  of 
dc<en  admin^tenMi  by  my  father.  |i>  fn  I 
a»d  the  «4her  dovMi  by  the  scl 
fa»deae*"  (tiK  iai.  <«|KXvik^ 


ANCIENT  PERU.  819 

llamas  were  kept  in  large  flocks  on  pastures  main- 
tained by  sedulous  irrigation,  just  as  the  maizei 
and  potato  crops  were  made  to  thrive.^  It  was  an 
agricultural  scene.  There  was  nothing  in  it  like 
the  old  patriarchal  life  on  the  plain  of  Mamre  or 
by  the  waters  of  the  Punjab.  Here  we  get  a  clue 
to  a  feature  of  Peruvian  society  unlike  anything 
else  in  the  world.  That  society  may  be  said  to 
have  constituted  a  nation.  It  was,  indeed,  a  na- 
tion of  very  rudimentary  type,  but  stiU  in  a  cer- 
tain sense  a  nation.     It  was  the  only 

.      ^  .  .      ^    A  .        .  1-1  Attainment 

mstance  m  ancient  America  in  which  a  of  nationauty 

,  .  ,.         .  without  the 

people  attained   to   nationality  in  any  notion  of  pH- 

.  •      vate  property. 

sense ;  and  so  far  as  history  knows,  it 
was  the  only  instance  in  the  world  in  which  the 
foimation  of  nationality,  with  the  evolution  of  a 
distinct  governing  class,  took  place  before   there 
had  been  any  considerable  development  of  the  idea 
of  private  property.     The  result,  as  we  shall  see 
toward  the  close  of  this  chapter,  was  a  state  organ- 
ized upon  the  principle  of  communistic  despotism. 
•     Let  us  first,  however,  observe  some  of  the  steps 
by  which  this  rudimentary  nationality  The  four 
was  formed.     The  four  tribes  in  which  *'^**^ 
we  can  first  catch  sight  of  the  process  were  the 
Quichuas,  situated  about  the  headwaters  of  the 
river  Apurimac,  the  Incas  of  the  upper  Yucay  val- 

^  It  most  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  yapoor-laden  trade  winds 
from  the  Atlantic  ocean  are  robbed  of  their  moisture  by  the  cold 
peaks  of  the  Andes,  so  that,  while  Brazil  has  a  rainfall  and  con- 
sequent luxuriance  of  vegetation  quite  unequalled,  on  the  other 
hand  Pern  is  dry,  in  many  places  parched,  and  requires  much 
irrigation.  In  this  respect  the  conditions  were  not  nnlike  those 
in  ova  Rocky  mountain  region. 


320  THE  DI8C0VEET  OF  AMERICA. 

ley,  and  the  Canas  and  Caacliis  of  the  moimtaiiia 
between  the  site  of  Cuzco  and  Lake  Titieaca.  The 
first  of  these  tribes  gave  the  name  Quichua  to  the 
common  language  of  the  Pemvian  empire,  the 
second  gave  the  name  Incas  to  the  conquering 
race  or  apper  caste  in  Peruvian  society,  while  the 
names  of  the  other  two  tribes  lapsed  into  obscur- 
ity. These  four  tribes  formed  the  nucleus  of  the 
Peruvian  nationality.  They  were  a  race  of  moun- 
taineers, short  in  stature,  but  strongly  and  litbely 
built,  with  features  aquiline  and  refined,  very  soft 
skin,  cinnamon  complexion,  fine  black  hair,  and 
little  or  no  beard.  In  the  time  of  Manco  Capao 
these  tribes  appear  to  have  been  made  up  of  dans 
called  ayllus  or  ^^  lineages."  His  tribe,  the  Incas, 
established  themselves  in  the  elevated  valley  of 
Ciizco,  and  from  that  point  began  to  subdue  the 
neighbouring  kindred  tribes.  They  did  not  confine 
themselves,  like  the  Aztecs,  to  extorting  tribute 
from  the  conquered  people,  but  they  effected  a 
military  occupation  of  the  country,  a  thing  which 
the  Aztecs  never  did.  Manco's  three  successors 
confined  their  attention  chiefly  to  building  Cuaoo 
(cir.  1280-1300)  and  taking  measures  to  consoli- 
date their  government.  We  may  perhaps  refer  to 
this  period  the  beginnings  of  that  very  remarkable 
military  organization  of  society  presently  to  be 
described.  By  this  time  the  Canas  and  Cauchis 
had  been  brought  entirely  under  Inca  rule,  and 
the  fifth  king,  Capac  Yupanqui,  completed  the  sub- 
jugation of  the  Quichuas.  The  two  following 
reigns  seem  to  have  been  spent  in  work  of  internal 
organization;  and  then  under  the  eighth  Incai 


ANCIENT  PERU.  321 

Yiracocluh  the  work  of  imperial  expansion  fairly 
"began.  It  is  now  that,  as  already  observed,  we 
come  out  into  the  daylight  of  history. 

This  eighth  Inea  had  a  somewhat  notable  name. 
The  title  of  Inea,  applied  alike  to  all  j^ju^^^jt^^ 
the  sovereigns,  was  simply  the  old  tribal  ^°*»* 
name,  and  continued  to  be  applied  to  the  descend- 
ants of  the  original  tribe,  who  came  to  form  a  kind 
of  patrician  caste.  The  king  was  simply  The  Inca 
par  excellence^  very  much  as  the  chief  of  an  Irish 
tribe  was  called  The  O'NeiL  Of  the  epithets 
attached  to  this  title,  some,  such  as  Manco  and 
Rocca,  may  perhaps  be  true  proper  names,  with 
the  meaning  lost,  such  as  we  do  not  find  among 
any  other  people  in  ancient  America  ;^  others,  such 
as  Uoque,  ^^  left-handed,"  are  nicknames  of  a  sort 
familiar  in  European  history;  the  most  common 
ones  are  laudatory  epithets,  as  Tupac, ''  splendid," 
Yupanqui,  "illustrious,"  Capac,  "rich."  The 
eighth  Inija  alone  has  a  name  identifying  him  with 
deity.  Yiracocha  was  the  name  of  the  sun-god  or 
sky-god.  It  was  very  much  as  if  the  Romans, 
instead  of  calling  their  emperor  Divus  Augustus, 
had  caUed  him  Jupiter  outright. 

The  Inca  Yiracocha  conquered  and  annexed  the 
extensive  country  about  Lake  Titicaca,  conquettoi 
inhabited  by  a  kindred  people  usually  ««»^3™»«5 
called  Aymaras,  whose  forefathers,  perhaps,  had 
built  the  Cyclopean  walls  at  Tiahuanacu.      Yira- 

^  Markhanif  in  Winsor's  Narr,  and  Crit.  Hist ,  i.  231.  It  may 
be,  however,  that  they  are  simply  archaic  words  to  which  toe  have 
lost  the  cine,  —  which  is  a  very  different  thing.  It  is  qnite 
donbtful,  therefore,  whether  this  should  be  cited  as  a  slight  ex« 
wption  to  my  fonner  statement,  toL  L  p.  69. 


322  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

cocha's  son  and  successor,  Urco,  met  with  misfor- 
tunes.  North  of  the  Quichua  country  were  two 
powerf 111  groups  of  kmdred  tribes,  the  Chaneas 
and  Huanoas,  extending  nearly  to  the  equator,  and 
beyond  them  were  the  Quitus,  whose  country 
reached  to  the  confines  of  the  Chibchas.  While 
Yiracocha  was  engaged  in  his  conquests  at  the 
south,  the  Chaneas  overran  the  Quichua  country, 
and  shortly  after  Urco's  accession  they  marched  to 
the  very  gates  of  Cuzco ;  but  in  a  decisive  battle, 
fought  just  outside  the  town,  the  invaders  were 
totally  defeated  by  Urco's  brother,  YupanquL 
Then  Urco  was  deposed  and  his  brother 
Ghanoaaaad  was  elected  to  succccd  him.  Presently 
"*°**^  the  Quichua  country  was  won  back, 
with  the  aid  of  its  own  people,  who  preferred  the 
Inca  rule  to  that  of  the  Chaneas.  After  a  while 
this  masterf  111  Inca  Yupadqui  had  conquered  the 
whole  Chanca  country  and  that  of  the  Huancas  to 
boot.  Next  he  turned  his  arms  against  the 
Chimus,  a  people  of  alien  blood  and  speech,  who 
occupied  the  Pacific  coast  from  near  the  site  of 
Lima  northward  to  that  of  Tumbez. 

These  Chimus,  whose  name  Humboldt  thinks 
may  have  survived  in  that  of  the  giant  mountain 
Chimborazo,^  were  an  interesting  people,  with  a 
semi-civilization  of  their  own,  apparently  quite  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  the  Incas.  From  Mr.  Squiers 
archaeological  investigations^  I  am  inclined  to  sus* 

*  Hamboldt,  Anstchien  der  Natur,  ii.  48. 

'  ^  See  Sqaier*s  Peru :  Incidents  of  Travel  and  Exploraiion  in 
the  Land  of  the  Incas,  New  York,  1877,  pp.  135-192 ;  see  also 
Markham's  valaable  Dote  in  Winsor,  Narr,  and  Crit.  Hist.,  i.  27&< 
278 ;  not  often  do  ve  find  more  food  for  the  hintorian  packed 
into  three  pages. 


ANCIENT  PERU,  323 

pect  that  it  may  have  been  a  semi-civilization  of 
the  Pueblo  type,  with  huge  communal  conquest  of 
houses.  However  this  may  have  been,  *^®  ^'^^ 
the  Inca  Yupanqui  conquered  the  Chimus.  At 
his  death  the  Inca  sway  extended  from  the  basin 
of  Lake  Titicaca  to  the  equator,  and  from  the 
Andes  to  the  coast ;  and  when  we  compare  the  end 
of  his  reign  with  its  beginning,  it  is  clear  that  he 
fairly  earned  the  epithet  by  which  he  was  distin- 
guished among  the  members  of  the  Inca  dynasty. 
He  was  the  great  hero  of  Peruvian  history ;  and 
the  name  given  him  was  Pachacutec,  or  "  he  who 
changes  the  world."  The  historian  Garcilasso  de 
la  Vega  was  his  grandson's  grandson. 

Under  Tupac  Yupanqui,  son  and  successor  of 
Pachacutec,  the  career  of  conquest  was  conquest  of 
further  extended.     It  was  first  neces-  ***®Q"^*"®» 
sary  to  suppress  a  rebellion  of  the  Aymaras.    Then 
Tupac  completed  the  conquest  of  the  Quitus.     So 
great  a  stretch  of  territory  had  been  brought  into 
subjection  that  it  now  seemed  necessary  to  have  a 
second   imperial   city  from  which  to  govern  its 
northern  portions.       Accordingly  Tupac  founded 
the  city  of  Quito,  saying:  "Cuzco  must  be  the 
capital  of  one  part  of  my  empire  and  Quito  of  the 
other."  ^     Then,  returning  southward,  he  brought 
all  the  coast  valleys  under  his  sway,  including  the 
Valley  of  Pachacamac,  "where  was  the  very  an- 
cient and  sacred  temple  of  the  Yuncas,  which  he 
wished  very  much  to  see.    .    .    .  Many   Indians 
Say  that  the  Inca  himself   spoke  with  the  Devil 
Who  was  in  the  idol  of  Pachacamac,  and  that  he 

^  Cieza,  pt.  ii.  cap.  ItL 


824  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

heard  iiow  the  idol  was  the  creator  of  the  world, 
and  other  nonsense,  which  I  do  not  put  down, 
because  it  is  not  worth  while."  ^  The  Inca,  says 
Cieza,  did  not  molest  this  temple,  but  built  a  house 
of  the  Sun  in  the  neighbourhood.  After 
returning  to  Cuzco,  he  subjected  some 
more  barbarous  tribes  in  the  Charcas  country 
southeast  from  Lake  Titicaca,  and  then  invaded 
Chili  and  penetrated  as  far  as  the  river  Maule,  in 
almost  34^  south  latitude. 

The  conquest  of  Chili  as  far  as  this  point  was 

completed  by  Tupac's  son,  Huayna  Capaev  who 

was  then  called  to  the  northward  by  a  rebellion  of 

the  tribes  about  Quito.     The  absorption  of  Inca 

stren&iih  in  conquest  at  one  end  of  this 

Rebellion  at        ,  .  «• 

Quito  rap.  long  territory  was  apt  to  offer  opportu- 
nities for  insurrection  at  the  other  end. 
In  an  obstinate  battle  near  Quito  the  rebels  were 
defeated  with  great  slaughter.  Many  hundreds 
of  prisoners  were  taken.  "  Very  few  were  able  to 
hide  themselves.  Near  the  banks  of  a  lake  the 
Inca  ordered  them  all  to  be  beheaded  in  his  pres- 
ence, and  their  bodies  to  be  thrown  into  the  water. 
The  blood  of  those  who  were  killed  was  in  such 
quantity  that  the  water  lost  its  colour,  and  nothing 
could  be  seen  but  a  thick  mass  of  blood.  Having 
perpetrated  this  cruelty,  .  .  .  Huayna  Capac  or- 
dered the  sons  of  the  dead  men  to  be  brought 
before  him,  and,  looking  at  them,  he  said,  Campa 
manan  pucula  tucuy  huamhracuna^  which  means, 
^  You  will  not  make  war  upon  me,  for  you  are  all 
boys  now.'     From  that  time  the  conquered  people 

^  Cieza,  pt.  iL  cap.  IviiL 


ANCIENT  PERU.  826 

were  called '  Huambracuna '  to  this  day,  and  they 
were  very  valiant.  The  lake  received  the  name  it 
still  bears,  which  is  Yahuarcocha^  or  ^  the  lake  of 
blood.'  "  ^  The  last  years  of  Huayna's  long  reign 
were  spent  in  Quito.  Upon  his  death  in  1523  his 
eldest  legitimate  son,  Huascar,  succeeded  him,  and 
presently  there  broke  out  the  civil  war  between 
Huascar  and  his  bastard  brother,  the  usurper  Ata- 
hualpa,  which  lasted  until  the  Spaniards  arrived 
upon  the  scene. 

The  territory  subject  to  Huayna  Capac  in  1523 
extended  from  near  Popayan,  north  of  D^eiuioiui  of 
the  equator,  to  the  river  Maule  in  Chili,  *****  ^^'^ 
a  distance  of  nearly  2,700  miles.  If  the  Spaniards 
had  not  interfered,  the  next  enemies  would  have 
been  the  Chibchas  on  the  north  and  the  invincible 
Araucanians  on  the  south.  The  average  breadth  of 
this  Peruvian  empire  was  from  300  to  350  miles, 
so  that  the  area  was  more  than  800,000  square 
xniles,  about  equal  to  the  united  areas  of  Austria- 
Hungary,  the  German  Empire,  France,  and  Spain, 
or  to  the  ai*ea  of  that  part  of  the  United  States 
<M>niprised  between  the  Atlantic  ocean  and  the 
Mississippi  river.  If  we  contrast  with  this  vast 
iierritory  the  extent  of  Montezuma's  so-called 
empire,  about  equivalent  to  the  state  of  Massa- 
chusetts or  the  kingdom  of  Wurtemberg,  we  can- 
xiot  hut  be  struck  with  the  difference.  The  con- 
trast  is   enhanced  when  we   remember  that   the 

^  Cieza,  pt.  ii.  cap.  Izvii.  One  is  reminded  of  Bajazet^s  whole- 
sale massacre  of  French  prisoners  after  the  battle  of  Nicopolis  in 
11306,  of  which  there  is  a  graphic  description  in  Barante,  Histoire 
c/m  dues  de  Bourgogne  de  la  maison  de  Vcdois,  7*  ^d.,  Paris,  1854^ 
'toiii.  iL  p.  198. 


326  THE  DISCOVEEY  OF  AMERICA. 

Aztec  confederacy  did  not  eiBPect  a  military  occu- 
pation of  the  country  over  which  its  operations 
extended,  nor  did  it  undertake  to  administer  the 
government  of  conquered  pueblo  towns ;  it  simply 
extorted  tribute^  Now  the  conquests  of  the  Incas 
went  much  farther  than  this  ;  they  undertook,  and 
to  some  extent  effected,  a  military  occupation  and 
a  centralized  administration  of  the  whole  coimtry. 
In  this  work  their  success  was  naturally  most  com- 
plete among  the  four  original  tribes  about  Cuzco ; 
probably  less  complete  among  the  Aymaras,  still 
less  among  the  Chimus  and  other  coast  tribes,  and 
least  at  the  two  extremities  in  Quito  and  Chili. 

"  The  grand  aim  and  glory  of  the  Incas,'*  says 
^  ,  Garcilasso,  "was  to  reduce  new  tribes 

Bought  to  M-    and  to  teach  them  the  laws  and  customs 

■imllAtecon- 

quex«d  peo-      of  the   children   of    the   Sun/'  ^    The 

plei. 

Incas  imposed  their  language  upon  each 
conquered  tribe,^  until  it  came  to  be  spoken  in  all 
parts  of  their  territory,  often  side  by  side  with 
the  local  tongues,  somewhat  as  Hindustani  is 
spoken  throughout  the  greater  part  of  British 
India,  side  by  side  with  Bengali,  Gxizerati,  Pun- 
jabi, etc.  The  Incas,  moreover,  to  the  best  of 
their  ability  abolished  cannibalism  and  other  sav- 
age customs  wherever  they  found  them,  and  intro- 
duced their  own  religious  ceremonies  and  festi- 
vals.* They  appointed  governors  (^curaccis^  for 
all  places.^    They  established  garrisons  at  various 

^  Garcilasso,  lib.  vii.  cap.  xviii. 

'  Id.,  lib.  vii.  cap.  i. ;  Cieza,  pt.  ii.  cap.  zziy. 

*  Garoilaaso,  lib.  tL  cap.  xriL ;  lib.  TiiL  caps.  iiL,  tu.  ;  and 
passim, 

*  Id.|  lib.  T.  cap.  ziiL 


ANCIENT  PERU.  827 

oints  in  order  to  secure  their  conquests ;  ^  and 
ley  built  military  roads,  with  storehouses  at  suit- 
ble  intervals  where  provisions  and  arms  could 
e  kept.2  In  connection  with  these  stations  were 
arracks  where  the  troops  could  find  shelter, 
liese  roads,  which  radiated  from  Cuzco  to  many 
arts  of  the  Tnca's  dominions,  were  about  tweniy- 
ve  feet  in  width,  and  almost  as  level  as  railroads, 
hich  in  that  rugged  coimtry  involved  much  cut- 
ng  through  rocks  and  much  filling  of  gorges. 
Tie  central  highway  from  Quito  to  Themmtaiy 
!uzeo,  which  was  finished  by  Huayna  "*^ 
lapac,  and  was  connected  with  a  similar  road  ex- 
ending  from  Cuzco  southward,  is  described  with 
Qthusiasm  by  Cieza  de  Leon,  whose  accuracy 
Euinot  lightly  be  questioned.  ^^The  great  road 
rem  Quito  to  Cuzco,  which  is  a  greater  distance 
lian  from  Seville  to  Some,  was  as  much  used  as 
iie  road  from  Seville  to  Triana,  and  I  cannot  say 
lore.^  ...  I  believe  that  since  the  history  of 
lan  has  been  recorded,  there  has  been  no  account 
f  such  grandeur  as  is  to  be  seen  in  this  road, 
rhich  passes  over  deep  valleys  and  lofty  moun- 
&ins,  by  snowy  heights,  over  falls  of  water,  through 
ive  rocks,  and  along  the  edges  of  furious  torrents, 
n  all  these  places  it  is  level  and  paved,  along 
Qountain  slopes  well  excavated,  by  the  mountains 
«^ell  terraced,  through  the  living  rock  cut,  along 
he  river  banks  supported  by  waUs,  in  the  snowy 
leights  with  steps  and  resting  places,  in  all  parts 

1  (Jarcilasso,  lib.  vi.  cap.  xvi- ;  Cieza,  pt.  ii.  caps,  ix., 

2  Garcilaaso,  lib.  t.  cap.  viiL ;  Cieza,  pt  i.  cap.  Ix. 
*  Cieza,  pt.  iL  cap.  IviL 


828  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

dean  swept,  clear  of  stones,  with  post-  and  store* 
houses  and  temples  of  the  Sun  at  intervals.  Oh ! 
what  greater  things  can  be  said  of  Alexander,  or 
of  any .  of  the  powerful  kings  who  have  ruled  in 
the  world,  than  that  they  had  made  such  a  road 
as  this,  and  conceived  the  works  which  were  re- 
quired for  it !  The  roads  constructed  by  the  Ro- 
mans in  Spain  .  .  .  are  not  to  be  compared  with 
it."  ^  These  roads  facilitated  the  transmission  of 
political  and  military  intelligence.  At  intervals 
of  a  league  and  a  half,  says  Polo  de  Ondegardo, 
_  there   stood   small    relay  houses,  each 

The  Goarlen.  _       , 

^'adapted    to   hold    two  Indians,  who 
served    as    postmen,   and   were    relieved   once  a 
month,  and  they  were  there  night  and  day.     Their 
duty  was  to  pass  on  the  messages   of  the  Inca 
from  Cuzco  to  any  other  point,  and  to  bring  back 
those  of  the  governors,  so  that  all  the  transactions 
and  events   of  the   empire  were  known.     When 
the  Inca  wished  to  send  anything  to  a  governor, 
he  said  it  to  the  first  chasqui  [courier],  who  ran 
at  full  speed  for  a  league  and  a  half,  and 
the  message  to  the  neict  as  soon  as  he  was  within -^=^-*' 
hearing,  so  that  when  he   reached  the  post  the^^^^ 
other  man  had  already  started."  *    The 
made  use  of  this   system  of  couriers,  and  wei 


^  Ciezaf  pt.  ii  cap.  Ixiu. 

^  "  Report  by  Polo  de  Ondegardo,"  in  Markham's  NaTrativemiS9^':axi 
of  the  Rites  and  Laws  of  the  Yncas,  London,  1878,  p.  169  (HaklnyT^^^^y^ 
Society).  The  original  MS.  is  in  the  National  Library  at  Madrid,-^^^'^ 
and  has,  I  believe,  not  yet  been  published.  Ondeganlo  was  ^  ^  * 
learned  lawyer  who  came  to  Peru  in  1547  with  Gasca,  and  w»'  ***  "^** 
afterwards  **  corregidor  '*  or  chief  magistrate  of  Cnzco.  His  brie 
document  is  of  much  yalue. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  329 

thus  able  to  convey  letters  from  Cuzco  to  Lima, 
a  distance  of  nearly  four  hundred  miles',  in  three 
days.^  Such  a  system  for  written  despatches 
would  of  course  do  very  well ;  but  one  is  inclined 
to  wonder  how  a  verbal  message,  transmitted 
through  a  dozen  or  fifty  mouths,  should  have  re- 
tained enough  of  its  original  shape  to  be  recog- 
nizable. For  all  except  the  very  simplest  mes- 
sages the  quipus  must  have  been  indispensable. 

Eemarkable  as  were  these  roads,  and  the  ar- 
rangements connected  with  them,  the  limitations 
under  which  the  Peruvians  worked  might  be  seen 
as  soon  as  there  was  a  river  or  a  broad  and  deep 
ravine  to  be  crossed.  Here  the  difference  between 
civilization  and  middle-barbarism  comes  out  for- 
cibly. The  Incas  could  command  enough  human 
brawn  and  muscle  to  build  cyclopean  masonry; 
but  as  they  did  not  understand  the  principle  of 
the  arch,2  they  could  not  build  stone  bridges,  nor 
had  they  suflScieut  knowledge  of  carpentry  and  en- 

^  Ondegardo  adds  that  these  couriers  were  used  to  hring  up 
fieah  fish  from  the  sea  to  Cuzco.  A  similai^  but  ruder  system 
of  couriers  was  used  in  Mexico  (Bandelier,  in  Pedbody  Museum 
BqxntSj  vol.  ii.  p.  690).  Something  similar  existed  in  ancient 
Persia  (Herodotus,  yiii.  98) ,  only  there  they  used  horses,  as  weU 
as  swift  dromedaries  (Strabo,  xy.  p.  724;  Diodorus,  xvii.  80; 
Qointns  Curtius,  viL  2,  11-18).  Marco  Polo  (lib.  ii.  cap.  26)  de- 
scribes the  relays  of  mounted  couriers  in  China  in  the  thirteenth 
century.  The  carrying  of  dainties  for  the  table  from  the  coast 
to  Cuzco  was  nothing  to  what  was  done  for  the  Fatimite  caliph 
Aziz,  in  the  tenth  century,  according  to  Makrizi,  iv.  118,  quoted 
by  Colonel  Yule.  As  the  caliph  craved  a  dish  of  Baalbec  cher- 
ries, his  vizier  "  caused  600  pigeons  to  be  despatched  from  Baal- 
bec to  Cairo,  each  of  which  carried  attached  to  either  leg  a  smaU 
nlk  bag  containing  a  cherry  I  "     Yule's  Marco  Polo,  vol.  i.  p.  392. 

^  GarciUsso,  lib.  v.  cap.  xxii. ;  lib.  viL  cap.  xxix. 


880  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

gineering  to  make  bridges  of  wood.    Their  ingeiro-^ 
ity  was  therefore  driven  to  assert  it 

Rope  bridges.     ,  ^      ^  ,  .  , 

by  stretching  huge  osier  ropes 
from  side  to  side  of  the  river  or  chasm,  and  lay- 
ing upon  the  ropes  a  flooring  of  transverse  planks.. 
The  sides  of  these  swaying  bridges  were  protected.^E^ 
by  a  slight  rope  railing.  Llamas  with  their  bur — ^'tM' 
dens  could  be  driven  across  such  bridges,  as  mule 
can  be  driven  across  them  to-day;  but  they 
not  comfortable  places  for  people  with  unsteady^-^^-y 
nerves,  and  in  a  high  wind  they  are  unsafe.^ 
This  extensive  system  of  roads  would  of 
indicate  a  military  empire  that  had  passed  beyonc 
the  mere  stage  of  tribal  confederation.  A  si] 
indication  is  furnished  by  the  remarkable  s^ 
of  military  colonies  (mitimaes)  established  by  the^^>-^® 
great  Inca  Pachacutec,^  or  perhaps  by  his 

Viracocha  Inca.     It  was  a  custom 


unitary  colo- 

^^  culiarly  incident  to  the  imperfect  rudi — 

mentary  development  of  nationality,  and  remin 

^  The  picture  of  the  rope  bridge  oTer  the  Apnrimao  riyer, 
in  nsei  which  may  be  seen  in  Sqnier's  Peru^  p.  545,  is  enough 
giye  one  a  turn  of  vertigo.     For  a  description  of  this  and  othe: 
bridges  in  the  Inca  period,  see  Garcilasso,  lib.  iii.  cap.  viL 

^  *^  Althoagh  some  Indians  say  that  the  mitimaes  were 
from  the  time  of  Viracocha  Inca,  those  may  beliere  it  who  pi 
to  do  so.     For  my  part  I  took  snch  pains  to  ascertain  the  f 
that  I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  the  colonizing  system  to  have  beei 
instituted  by  [Paohacntec]  Inca  Ynpanqni.'*    Cieia  de  Leon, 
Markham,  pt.  ii.  cap.  zxii.    The  system  is  more  likely  to  haig^ 
grown  up  gradually  than  to  have  been  invented  all  at  onoe.    Mr* 
Bandelier  suggests  that  possibly  there  may  have  been  a  mdim-^^^" 
germ  of  it  in  Mexico,  in  the  occasional  repeopling  of  an  a 
doned  pueblo  by  colonists  of  Nahuatl  race,  as  in  the  case  of  AI. 
huitzlan,  related  by  Father  Duran   (cap.  xlv.)  and 
(cap.  Ixxiv.).  —  Feahody  Museum  Reports^  tqL  ii.  p.  140. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  881 

•ne  strongly  of  what  was  formerly  to  be  seen  in 
Assyria.  The  ancient  kings  of  Babylon  and  Nine- 
Teh  used  to  transfer  a  considerable  part  of  a  con- 
quered population  from  their  old  homes  to  a  new 
habitat  in  some  distant  part  of  the  empire,  in  or- 
der to  break  up  local  patriotism  and  diminish  the 
tendency  to  revolts.  Sometimes  such  a  population 
was  transferred  in  block,  and  some  other  popula- 
tion put  in  its  place  ;  but  more  often  it  was  broken 
into  small  bodies  and  scattered.  It  was  thus  that 
Tiglath-Pileser  and  Sargon  of  Nineveh  carried  off 
the  ten  tribes  of  Israel,^  and  that  a  part  of  the 
people  of  Judah  were  kept  in  exile  by  the  waters 
of  Babylon  until  the  great  Cyrus  released  them.' 
Now  this  same  system  of  deportation  was  exten- 
sively practised  by  the  Incas,  and  for  the  same 
reason.  For  example,  Tupac  Yupanqui  removed 
from  the  islands  of  Lake  Titicaca  their  entire 
population,  and  scattered  it  in  different  places; 
be  replaced  it  on  the  islands  by  people  taken  from 
forty-two  tribes  in  various  parts  of  his  domin- 
ions.^ When  the  same  Inca  foimded  the  city  of 
Quito  he  peopled  it  with  mitimaes^  largely  from 
the  regions  near  Cuzco  and  likely  to  be  loyal. 
Huayna  Capac  did  the  same  sort  of  thing  in  Chili. 
In  many  cases  chiefs  aiid  other  important  men 
among  these  transported  populations  received  es- 
pecial  marks  of  favour  from  the  Inca  and  were 

^  Rawlinaon's  Ancient  Monarchies^  2d  ed.,  London,  1871,  vol.  u. 
p.  152 ;  2  Kings  xriiL  9-11.  Similar  things  were  now  and  then 
ione  by  the  RomanB ;  see  Dio  Cassins,  Ut.  11 ;  Floras,  iv.  12. 

>  Ewald's  Higtory  of  Israel,  ,Yot.  iv.  pp.  263,  274 ;  Rawlinson, 
sp.  cit  ToL  ilL  p.  885. 

*  Garcilano,  lib.  viiL  cap.  "fL 


382  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

taught  to  regard  their  fortunes  as  dependent  upon 
him.  Strangers  from  all  quarters,  moreover,  were 
brought  to  Cuzco  and  assigned  their  several  quar- 
ters there,  so  that  the  city  was  a  kind  of  epitome 
of  the  Inca's  dominions.^ 

Now  the  features  of  Peruvian  poliiy  thus  far 
enimierated  —  the  imposing  of  a  new  language 
and  religion  upon  conquered  tribes,  the  appoint- 
ment of  governors  (usually  if  not  always  of  the 
Inca  blood),  the  maintenance  of  garrisons,  the 
system  of  military  roads,  and  the  wholesale  de- 
portation of  peoples  —  are  all  features  attendant 
Incipient  ii».  upou  the  incipicut  development  of  nar 
tionaiity.  tionality  through  conquest  and  fusion 
of  tribes  and  the  breaking  down  of  primitive 
tribal  institutions.  There  were  points  of  genuine 
analogy  between  this  development  in  Peru  and  in 
Assyria.  This  kind  of  incipient  nationality  is  of 
very  low  type.  It  is  held  together  not  by  a  na- 
tional spirit  of  patriotism,  but  by  the  systematic 
coercion  exercised  by  the  ruling  tribe,  which  has 
been  developed  into  what  is  practically  a  ruling 
caste.  Oriental  history  affords  plenty  of  examples 
of  the  ease  with  which  coimtries  under  such  condi- 
tions are  sometimes  conquered.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary for  the  invader  to  strike  down  the  sovereign 
and  get  control  of  the  machinery  of  government, 
and  the  thing  is  done;  the  subject  tribes  simply 
exchange  one  master  for  another,  or  if  here  and 
there  a  tribe  rebels,  it  is  rather  to  regain  its  origi- 
nal independence   than   to  restore   the    state   of 

^  Instrnctive  notices  of  the  mitimaes  may  be  found  in  Cieza^ 
pt.  i.  cap.  xdiL ;  pt.  ii.  caps,  xiii.,  xzii.,  lii.,  Wi.,  bdi. 


ANCIEXT  rERV.  333 

things  immediately  preceding  the  catastrophe. 
Sometimes  it  succeeds  m  its  attempt,  but  often 
the  new  master,  wielding  the  same  resources  as 
the  old  one,  or  even  greater,  reduces  it  again  to 
submission. 

In  this  rudimentary  form  of  nationality,  where 
anything  like  the  application  of  representative  gov- 
ernment to  nation-making  is  utterly  above  and  be^ 
yond  the  range  of  men's  thought,  the  only  shape 
^which  government  can  assume  is  military  despot^ 
ism,  exercised  either  by  a  royal   family  or  by  a 
oaste.     The  despotic  government  of  ancient  Peru 
^eems  to  have  partaken  of  both  these  characters ; 
it  ^was  exercised  by  a  caste  in  which  a  particular 
family  was  preeminently  sovereign.   The  j^e  inc» 
Uncas,  as  already  observed,  were  origi-  ^^^ 
:xaally    a    conquering  tribe ;    and    they   remained 
^raperimposed  upon  the  conquered  peoples  as  an 
'tapper  caste.     Garcilasso  tells  us  that  ^^  the  Incas 
free  from  the  temptations  which  usually  lead 
crime,  such  as  passion  for  women,  envy  and 
<x>vetousness,  or  the  thirst  for  vengeance  ;  because 
if  they  desired  beautiful  women,  it  was  lawful  for 
tiiem  to  have  as  many  as  they  liked ;  and  any 
"pretty  girl  they  might  take  a  fancy  to,  not  only 
xvas  never  denied  to  them,  but  was  given  up  by 
lier  father  with  expressions  of  extreme  thankful- 
ness that  an  Inca  should  have  condescended  to 
take  her  as  his  servant.     The  same  thing  might 
be  said  of  their  property  ;  for  as  they  never  could 
feel  the  want  of  anything,  they  had  no  reason  to 
covet  the  goods  of  others  ;  while  as  governors  they 
had  command  over  all  the  property  of  the  Sun 


334  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

and  of  the  Inca;  and  those  who  were  in  charge 
were  bound  to  give  them  all  that  they  required^ 
as  children  of  the  Sun,  and  brethren  of  the  Inca. 
They  likewise  had  no  temptation  to  kill  or  wound 
any  one  either  for  revenge  or  in  passion ;  for  no 
one  ever  offended  them.  On  the  contrary,  they 
received  adoration  only  second  to  that  offered  to 
the  royal  person ;  and  if  any  one,  how  high  so- 
ever his  rank,  had  enraged  any  Inca,  it  would 
have  been  looked  upon  as  sacrilege  and  very 
severely  punished.*'  Of  course  some  allowances 
must  be  made  in  accepting  these  statements  ,*  such 
sweeping  generalizations  always  require  more  or 
less  qualification;  and  it  is  not  likely  that  there 
ever  existed  a  society  of  which  this  description  of 
Grarcilasso's  would  have  been  literally  accurate. 
But  after  making  due  allowances,  it  remains  quite 
clear  that  his  Incas  constituted  a  distinct  caste, 
and  were  regarded  by  the  mass  of  people  as  beings 
of  a  superior  order.  They  were  not  only  an  upper 
caste,  but  they  were  a  ruling  caste,  and  furnished 
for  every  part  of  the  empire  governors  allied  to 
one  another  by  a  keen  sense  of  kinship. 

The  chief  of  this  Inca  caste,  called  par  excel- 
lence The  Inca,  was  no  doubt  tiie  descendant  and 
representative  of  the  ancient  chiefs  of   the  Inca 
tribe.     Just   how  far  the   different  attributes  of 
royalty  were  united  in  his  person  and 

The  Inca  sov-  •      . 

ereignaad  ofBcC,  it   is    UOt  CaSV   tO    SaV.       With  rC- 

ooanciL  .  .  . 

gard  to  the  highest  legislative  and  judi- 
ciary powers,  our  authorities  do  not  make  it  per- 
fectly dear  how  far  they  were  exercised  by 

^  Garoilasso,  li^.  ii.  cap.  xy. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  335 

nca  solely,  or  by  the  Inca  in  connection  with  a 
oiincil.  That  there  was  a  council  is  unquestiona- 
•le,  and  that  it  was  a  development  from  the  coun- 
il  of  the  primitive  Inca  tribe  is  in  a  high  degree 
»robable ;  but  we  are  insufficiently  informed  as  to 
he  extent  of  its  powers.  From  sundry  statements, 
owever,  it  may  be  inferred  that  these  powers 
rere  considerable,  and  that  the  Inca  was  perhaps 
ot  quite  so  full-blown  a  despot  as  some  of  Mr. 
^rescott's  authorities  declared  him  to  be.  The 
batement  that,  if  he  had  taken  it  into  his  head  to 
ut  to  death  a  hundred  thousand  Indians,  his  de- 
ree  would  have  been  executed  without  a  murmur, 
as  a  strong  smack  of  hyperbole.^  On  the  other 
and,  we  are  told  that  before  deciding  upon  any 
leasure  of  importance,  the  coimcil  was  always 
OD suited;  upon  this  point,  says  Cieza  de  Leon, 
11  his  informants  were  agreed.^  As  to  the  crucial 
uestion,  however,  how  far  the  Inca's  authority 
'as  effectively  limited  by  the  council,  Cieza  leaves 
s  in  the  dark.  Garcilasso  refers  to  "  Tupac  Yu- 
anqui  and  all  his  council"  ordaining  that  two  of 
be  royal  concubines  should  be  legitimized  and  re- 
arded  as  true  queens,  in  order  to  provide  against 
possible  failure  in  the  succession,  because  the 
eir  apparent,  Huayna  Capac,  had  no  children  by 
is  first  and  legitimate  queen  .^     Here  the  consent 

^  "  Sn  palabra  era  ley,  i  nadie  osaba  ir  contra  sn  palabra  ni 
olantad :  annqne  obiese  de  matar  cient  mill  IndioSf  no  bavia 
ingnnoen  sn  reino  qae  le  oease  decirqne  no  lo  biciese.^'  Con- 
uista  I  poblacion  del  Peru,  MS.,  apud  Prescott,  Conq.  of  PerUf 
ook  i.  chap.  i. 

^  Cieza,  pt  ii.  cap.  xxvi. 

'  Garcilasso,  lib.  yiii.  cap.  yiiL 


336 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA, 


of  the  council,  in  a  measure  of  prime  importance, 
is  evidently  assumed  to  be  essentiaL  Still  more 
significant  is  the  brief  mention  made  by  Cieza  of 
Thedepodtioii  ^®  deposition  of  the  Inca  Uroo.^  This 
of  urco.  ruler's  military  conduct  had  been  dis- 
astrous. The  invading  Chancas  had,  in  spite  of 
him,  arrived  within  sight  of  Cuzoo,  when  they 
were  defeated  with  prodigious  slaughter  by  his 
brother,  afterward  famous  as  Pachacutec  Yu- 
panqui.  After  the  victory  there  was  earnest  dis- 
cussion within  the  city.  Cieza  does  not  mention 
the  council  by  name,  but  except  the  council  there 
w^  no  authoritative  body  in  which  such  a  discus- 
sion could  take  place.  Cieza's  description  through- 
out implies  that  the  proceedings  were  regular,  and 
that  the  decision  was  at  once  accepted  as  finaL  It 
was  decided  that  the  unworthy  Urco  should  not 
be  allowed  to  enter  the  city,  and  that  the  fringed 
and  feathered  crimson  cap,  or  borla^  which  served 
as  the  Inca  diadem,  should  be  taken  from  him  and 
bestowed  upon  his  victorious  brother.  In  spite  of 
Urco's  protests  this  was  done.  It  is  further  said 
that  Urco's  lawful  queen,  who  had  borne  him  no 
children,  forthwith  abandoned  him,  and,  coming 
into  Cuzco,  became  the  lawful  queen  of  Pachacu- 
tec.^   All  these  proceedings  seem  to  me  oonsistent^^- 


^  Cieza,  pt.  ii.  cap.  xlvi. 

^  Cieza  does  not  tell  ns  what  became  of  the  deposed  and 
saken  king.  '^  I  say  no  more  concerning  Inca  Urco,  beoanee 
Indians  only  refer  to  his  history  as  a  thing  to  laugh  at." 

Garcilasso  tells  a  different  story.    He  places  the  iuTamon 
the  Chancas  two  generations  earlier,  in  the  reign  df  Uroo^s 
father,  Yahuar-haaccao.    That  Inca,  says  Qarcilasso,  fled  fi 
Cnzco,  and  his  sou  Viracocha  Inca  defeated  the  inyaden, 


ANCIENT  PFRV.  337 

and  probable,  and  they  clearly  indicate  that  the 
power  of  deposing  and  degrading  the  king,  and 
filling  his  place  by  the  prince  next  in  the  cus- 
tx>iiiary  order  of  succession,  was  retained  by  the 
Inca  council  at  Cuzco,  as  it  was  retained  by  the 
^atocan  at  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  could  be  ex- 
erted in  cases  of  emergency. 

On  the  whole,  I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that 
^he  reigning  Inca  had  practically  acquired  control 
^3f  judicial,  administrative,  and  legislative  affairs 
through  his  paramount  influence  in  the  council ; 
^md  that  this  is  one  reason  why  such  meagre  inf  or- 
:saiation  about  the  council  has  come  down  to  us. 
^The  Inca  was,  in  all  probability,  much  more  a  king 
^han  Agamemnon,  —  more  like  Kameses  the  Great. 
One  is  the  more  inclined  to  this  opinion  because 
moi  the  excessive  development  of  sacerdotal  suprem- 
^acy  in  the  Inca.  As  already  observed,  in  the 
^>rder  of  historic  evolution  the  king  is  primarily 
''the  military  chief ;  next  he  becomes  chief  priest, 
^md  in  virtue  of  this  combination  of  exalted  func- 
^ons,  he  acquires  so  much  influence  as  to  appro- 
3>riate  to  himself  by  degrees  the  other  functions  of 
government,  judicial,  administrative,  and  legisla- 

"upon  the  son  dethroned  the  father,  hut  allowed  him  to  live  in  a 
^somfortahle  palace  in  the  pleasant  Yucay  vaUey  (lib.  v.  cap. 
2Kviii.-xx.).  But  in  this  story  also,  the  act  which  dethrones  the 
'father  and  enthrones  the  son  is  the  act  of  '*  the  court,  which  was 
^he  head  of  the  kingdom,  to  avoid  scandals  and  civil  wars,  and 
^ibove  all  because  there  was  no  use  in  resisting,  so  that  all  that 
'^e  prince  desired  was  agreed  to."  Nothing  could  be  more  sig- 
xuficant.  The  victorious  prince  is  all-powerful  in  the  council,  but 
i«tin  the  action,  to  be  lawful,  must  be  the  action  of  the  council. 
*J.'liis  preserves  the  reminiscence  of  despotism  in  the  making,  at 
^  tune  when  despotism  was  practically  completed. 


838  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

tive.^  Now  the  Tnca,  originally  the  head  war-chief 
TheincawM  ^^  *^®  ^^*  tribe,  Came  naturally  to  be 
»♦*  god-king."  military  head  of  the  Inca  empire.  As 
to  his  sacerdotal  functions  he  ea.me  to  be  some- 
thing more  than  chief  priest ;  his  position  was  that 
of  vice-deity,  analogous  to  what  Herbert  Spencer 
calls  a  god-king.  To  illustrate  this  properly  a  few 
words  must  be  devoted  to  an  accoimt  of  the  Inca 
religion. 

This  religion  was  a  comparatively  high  form  of 
polytheism,  in  which  ancestor-worship  coexisted 
with  worship  of  the  Sun ;  and  now  and  then  some 
idea  crudely  suggestive  of  monotheism  found  ex- 
pression, as  in  the  remark  attributed  by  Father 
Bias  Valera  to  the  Inca  Tupac  Yupanqui,  that 
the  Sun,  who  goes  on  his  unvarying  roimd  like  a 
tethered  beast,  must  be  obeying  the  mandates  of  an 
unseen  power.^  In  the  mind  of  the  Inca  this  un- 
seen power  was  probably  Pachacamac,  whose  name 
means  ''  Creator  of  the  World."  "  All 
the  theology  of  the  Incas,"  says  Garci- 
lasso,  "was  included  in  the  word  Pachacamuc.'*'* 
They  believed  that  things  must  have  been  made 
somehow  by  somebody,  but  beyond  that  point  they 
did  not  carry  their  speculations,  for  they  had  little 
science  and  still  less  theology,  and  "  knew  not  how 
to  raise  their  minds  to  invisible  things."  ^  In  all 
Peni  there  was  but  one  temple  consecrated  to  Pa- 
chacamac.    It  was  on  the  coast,  some  distance  south 

^  See  above,  vol.  i.  p.  112. 

-  The  same  remark  was  attributed  by  Father  Acosta  to  Tupac's 
son,  Huayna  Capac.  Sae  Garcilasso,  lib.  viii.  cap.  viii. ;  lib.  ix. 
cap.  X.     Cf.  Myths  and  Mythmalcers^  pp.  169-171. 

'  Garcilasso,  lib.  ii.  cap.  xxv. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  639 

of  the  site  of  Lima.  It  was  a  very  old  temple, 
standing  on  the  top  of  a  small  hill  and  built  of 
adobe  brick.  The  interior  walls  were  covered  with 
figures  of  wild  beasts.  Within  was  an  idol  endowed 
"with  oracular  powers,  and  its  priests,  when  con- 
sulted, went  off  into  paroxysuLs  like  the  Cumaean 
SibyL^  To  the  valley  of  Pachacamac  came  pil- 
grims with  their  offerings  from  all  quarters  to 
<x)nsult  the  oracle.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  relic 
of  the  old  idolatrous  religion  of  the  coast  people, 
^which  the  sagacious  Tupac  Yupanqui,  instead  of 
Jesteoying  it,  converted  to  the  uses  of  a  more 
spiritual  religion,  somewhat  as  early  Soman  mis- 
sionaries cleansed  pagan  temples  and  turned  them 
into  Christian  churches.^  The  general  policy  of 
"the  Incas,  however,  was  to  suppress  idolatry  among 
"the  peoples  annexed  to  their  dominions.^     Garci- 

^  At  Fhoebi  nondnm  patiens,  imraanis  in  antro 
Bacohatnr  vates,  magnum  si  pectore  possit 
EzcQssiase  Denm.    Tanto  magis  ille  f  atigat 
Ob  rabidum,  f  era  corda  domans,  fingitqae  premendo. 
Ostia  jamque  domns  patuere  ingentia  centum 
Sponte  sua,  yatisqne  f  emnt  responsa  per  auras. 

Virg.,  -^n.,  Ti.  77. 
^  Cieza^s  remarks  are  entertaining.  He  says  that  *^  the  deril 
IPac^acamac ''  was  much  pleased  with  the  arrangement,  and 
**  showed  great  satisfaction  in  his  replies,  seeing  that  his  ends 
'were  served  both  by  the  one  party  and  the  other,  while  the  souls 
«f  the  unfortunate  simpletons  remained  in  his  power.  Some  In- 
idians  say  that  this  accursed  demon  Pachacamac  still  talks  with 
"the  aged  people.  As  he  sees  that  his  authority  and  credit  are 
jrone,  and  that  many  of  those  who  once  served  him  have  now 
formed  a  contrary  opinion,  he  declares  that  he  and  the  God  of 
"whom  the  Christians  preach  are  one,  and  thus  with  other  false 
mnd  deceitful  words  induces  some  to  i-ef use  the  water  of  bap- 
"^sm  ^'  (pt  i.  cap.  Ixxii.).  There  was  nothing  of  the  comparative 
mythologist  about  Cieza ! 

*  GkuKnlasso,  lib.  vi.  cap.  x. ;  lib.  viii.  cap.  iii. 


840 


THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 


Son-wonhip. 


lasso  declares  most  positavely  that  the  Inca  people 
^^  worshipped  no  other  gods  but  the  Sun,  although 
there  are  not  wanting  persons  who  state  the  con- 
trary." ^  The  reverence  for  tutelar  domestic  deities, 
the  spirits  of  deceased  ancestors,  Garcilasso  would 
probably  not  have  regarded  as  a  real  exception  to 
his  general  statement,  any  more  than,  as  a  Cath- 
olic, he  would  have  recognized  the  reverence  for 
patron  saints  as  an  evanescent  phase  of  polythe- 
ism. The  public  worship  was  Sun-wor- 
ship. Some  reverence  was  piud  to  the 
moon,  the  three  brightest  planets,  and  the  Pleiades, 
but  this  was  but  accessory  to  the  adoration  of  the 
orb  of  day.  This  worship  was  celebrated  chiefly 
at  four  great  festivals  at  the  solstices  and  equi- 
noxes of  each  year.^  At  these  festivals  there  were 
sacrifices  of  ^^  sheep,"  i.  e.  llamas  or  alpacas,  and 
their  lambs ;  of  rabbits  and  birds  used  for  food ; 
of  maize  and  other  vegetables,  of  the  strength-sus- 
taining herb  cocUj^  of  the  exhilarating  cAtcAo,  or 
maize  beer,*  and   of   fine   cloths.     "  They  burnt 


^  Garcilasso,  lib.  iii.  cap. 

^  For  the  method  in  which  the  Pemvians  measured  the  year 
and  determined  the  solstices  and  equinoxes  by  means  of  the 
shadows  oast  by  towers,  see  Garcilasso,  lib.  ii.  cap.  zxiL  They 
used  the  solar  year,  and  intercalated  a  period  at  the  end  of  the 
lunar  year  to  bring  it  up  to  the  solar.  This  period  they  called 
"finished  moon."  See  Markham^s  note,  to  Ghutdlaaao,  toL  i 
p.  179. 

'  The  dietetic  and  medicinal  uses  of  this  valuable  narcotic, 
especially  useful  to  mountaineers,  are  described  in  Garcilasso, 
lib.  viii.  cap.  xr. ;  and  Cieza,  pt.  i.  cap.  zcyi. ;  cf .  Johnston,  Chem- 
iitry  of  Common  Xt/e,  vol.  ii.  pp.  116-135;  Bibra,  Die  Narh>^ 
tiachen  Oenu8smittel  und  der  Mensch,  pp.  151-174. 

*  The  maize  beer  is  described  in  Garcilasso,  lib.  viii.  cap.  iz. 
The  Peruvians  were  sturdy  tipplers ;  the  quantity  of  beer  they 


ANCIENT  PERU.  341 

"these  things  as  a  thank-offering  to  the  Sun  for 
liaving  created  them  for  the  support  of  man."  ^ 
^As  for  human  sacrifices,  Garcilasso  assures  us,  and 
"with  evident  knowledge  of  the  subject,  xohniMii 
-that  there  was  nothing  of  the  sort  imder  ■«"**<»»• 
-the  Incas.    In  the  times  before  the  Inca  supremacy, 
mnd  among  many  of  the  peoples  whom  the  Incas 
<$onquered,   there   were   human  sacrifices  accom- 
3)anied  by  cannibalism ;  ^  but  both  these  practices 
"were  sternly  suppressed  by  the  Incas.     Their  abo- 
lition he  would  date  as  far  back  as  the  time  of 
IManco  Capac,^  which  was  equivalent  to  "  a  time 
whereof  the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the 
<.>n1^."      If  some  Spanish  writers  assert  that 
iJiere  were  hmnan  sacrifices  in  Peru,  it  shows  that 
"they  do  not  exercise  proper  discrimination.    Within 
the  vast  limits  of  the  Inca  dominion  there  were 
included  a  number  of   peoples  with  whom   such 
sacrifices  had  long  been  customary,  and  it  might 
"well  be  that  the  Incas  had  not  completely  sue- 
needed  eveiywhere  in  stamping  out  the  abomina- 
idon.     Grarcilasso  mentions  a  writer  who  described 
3iuman  sacrifices  "  in  Peru ; "  but  it  was  in  a  place 
more  than  twelve  hundred  miles  north  of  Cuzco, 
i.  e.  in  a  region  recently  conquered  and  imperfectly 

• 

consumed,  says  onr  author  (lib.  yi.  cap.  iii.),  "  is  a  thing  almost 
incredible.*'  After  the  Spaniards  introduced  barley,  the  natives 
made  beer  from  it  (Cieza,  pt.  i.  cap.  zl.) ;  but  the  chicha  is  still  in 
«ommon  use.    See  Squier^s  Peru,  p.  126  et  passim. 

^  Garcilasso,  lib.  ii.  cap.  viii. 

s  Compare  Dr.  Haug^s  remarks  on  the  prevalence  of  human 
sttcrifices  in  Yedio  times  and  their  abandonment  by  the  Brah- 
^xnans,  in  Muir's  Sanskrit  Texts,  vol.  i.  p.  11. 
}f  lib.  L  cap. 


342  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

reorganized.  ''  I  am  a  witness,'^  says  the  good 
Garcilasso,  ^'to  having  heard  my  father  and  his 
contemporaries  frequently  compare  the  states  of 
Mexico  and  Peru ;  and  in  speaking  of  these  sacri- 
fices of  men,  and  of  the  practice  of  eating  human 
flesh,  they  praised  the  Incas  of  Peru  because  they 
neither  practised  nor  permitted  such  acts,  while 
they  execrated  the  Mexicans  for  doing  both  the 
one  and  the  other  in  the  city  in  so  diabolical  a 
fashion."  ^  Little  if  any  doubt  is  now  left  that 
Garcilasso  was  quite  right,  and  that  among  the 
burnt-offerings  to  the  Sim  on  his  great  festal  days 
there  were  no  human  creatures. 

The  duties  and  ceremonies  of  this  Sun-worship 
were  in  charge  of  quite  a  hierarchy  of  ministering 
priests  and  confessors,  sacrificers,  hermits,  and 
The j)rie»t-  soothsaycrs,  at  the  head  of  all  the  Villac 
*****'^  Umu,  "  chief  soothsayer  "  or  high  priest, 

and  above  him  the  luca.^  The  soothsayers,  like 
the  Roman  augurs,  divined  by  the  flight  of  birds 
or  by  inspecting  the  entrails  of  animals  sacrificed. 
The  ministering  priests  received  ex)nfessions  and 

^  Garcilasso,  lib.  ii.  cap.  viii.  Mr.  Prescott  {Conquest  of  Peru, 
book  i.  chap,  iii.)  was  inclined  to  admit  that  human  sacrifices  were 
performed,  though  very  rarely,  under  the  Incas,  and  quoted  five 
contemporary  authorities  (including*  Cieza)  against  Garcilasso. 
But  Mr.  Markham  has  shown  that  Cieza  and  others  were  misled 
by  supposing  that  the  words  yuyac  and  huahua  signified  "  men  " 
and  *' children,"  whereas,  as  applied  to  the  victims  of  sacrifice, 
these  words  signified  **  adult  beasts  "  and  '*  lambs."  Mr.  Markham 
also  quotes  seven  other  important  contemporary  authorities  (not 
mentioned  by  Mr.  Prescott)  in  support  of  Garcilasso ;  so  that  the 
question  appears  to  be  settled  in  his  favour.  See  Winsor,  Narr, 
and  Crit.  Hist.,  i.  237,  238. 

2  The  priesthood  is  described  by  Mr.  Markham,  in  Winso^ 
Near,  and  CriL  Hist.,  I  240. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  843 

rred  as  the  mouthpieces  of  oracles.  The  hermits 
dwelt  in  solitary  places,  and  were,  in  some  in- 
stances if  not  always,  organized  into  a  kind  of 
^^libate  monastic  brotherhood  with  a  chief  hermit 
Sit  the  head.  To  these  remarkable  coincidences 
-with  various  customs  in  the  Old  World  may  be 
sdded  the  special  coincidence  with  ancient  Egypt 
dn  mortuary  customs.  In  Peru  as  in  Egypt  the 
TxHlies  of  the  dead,  swathed  and  wrapped  in  com- 
3>licated  fashion,  were  preserved  as  mummies,  and 
sundry  treasures  and  utensils  were  buried  with 
"them.^ 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  these  coincidences 
^was  the  keeping  of  the  sacred  fire.  Each  year  at 
-the  autumnal  equinox  a  "  new  fire  was  kindled  by 
'<»llecting  the  sun's  rays  on  a  burnished  xhe  reatai 
:anirror,  and  this  fire  was  kept  alive  °^*°^ 
-through  the  year  by  consecrated  maidens  (aclla- 
^*una)  analogous  to  the  Roman  vestal  nuns.    These 

^  Compare  Cieza  de  Leon,  pt.  i-  cap.  Ixiii.  with  Maspero^s  Egyp^ 
^an  Archceology,  chap.  iii.     **Many  of  these  ceremonies/'  says 
Oieza,  "  are  now  given  up,  because  these  people  are  learning  that 
Sit  suffices  to  inter  the  bodies  in  common  graves,  as  Christians  are 
interred,  without  taking  anything  with  them  other  than  good 
^works.     In  truth,  all  other  things  but  serve  to  please  the  Devil, 
^and  to  send  the  soul  down  to  hell  the  more  heavily  weighted." 
Hn  several  passages  Cieza  speaks  of  the  custom  of  burying  widows 
^dive  with  their  husband^ s  mummy  as  if  it  were  a  common  cus- 
tom in  Peru.     It  was  undoubtedly  common  among  many  of  the 
^>eop]es  conquered  by  the  Incas,  but  it  was  not  an  Inca  custom, 
and  they  did  what  they  could  to  suppress  it.     A  very  high  con- 
tempoRury  authority,  known  as  '*  the  anonymous  Jesuit,"  declares 
that  *  *  in  none  of  the  burial-places  opened  by  the  Spaniards  in 
search  of  treasure  were  any  human  bones  found,  except  those  of 
the  buried  lord  himself."     Markham,  in  Winsor,  Narr.  and  Crit, 
Hist.y  i.  2*37.    Specimens  of  the  mummies  may  be  seen  at  the 
Peabody  Museum  in  Cambridge.         ' 


344  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

vestals  lived  in  convents  presided  over  by  matrons 
(mama-^una).  If  the  fire  happened  to  go  out  it 
was  an  evil  omen.  If  a  nun  broke  her  vow  of  chas- 
tity she  was  buried  alive,^  just  as  in  Some.  But 
as  compared  with  the  Peruvian  system  of  vestals, 
the  Soman  system  seems  either  like  a  dwindled 
survival  of  something  similar,  or  perhaps  a  parallel 
case  of  development  arrested  at  an  earlier  stage. 
It  was  a  much  more  extensive  afiFair  in  Peru  than 
in  Some,  and  its  meaning  is  in  many  respects  more 
obvious.  In  Some  there  were  six  priestesses  of 
Vesta,  who  were  treated  with  most  signal  defer- 
ence.^ In  Peru  an  aclla-cuna  was  treated  with  much 
deference,  as  a  kind  of  superior  being,  but  the 
number  of  them  was  very  large.  There  were  about 
1,500  of  these  vestals  in  the  adld-huasi^  or  "  nims'- 
house  "  at  Cuzco,  end  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom 
a  temple  of  the  Sun  generally  had  such  a  convent 
attached  to  it.  Their  vow  of  perpetual  celibacy 
meant  that  they  were  the  Sun's  wives  ;  whence  it 
was  quite  natural  that  the  punishment  for  infidelity 
should  be  burial  in  the  dark  grave  out  of  the 
offended  husband's  sight.  As  wives  of  the  Sun, 
they  had  certain  household  duties.  They  baked 
cakes  and  brewed  beer  for  the  great  sacrificial  fes- 
tivals of  the  winter  solstice  and  the  vernal  equinox. 

^  Garcilasso,  lib.  iv.  cap.  iii.  According  to  Zante  (Conquista 
del  Peru^  ii.  7),  the  woman's  paramour  was  burned  aliTe. 

^  **  They  were  emancipated  from  the  patria  pote^as  and  be- 
came mi  Juris ;  .  .  .  a  lictor  cleared  the  way  before  them ;  a  seat 
of  honour  was  reserred  for  them  at  the  public  shows ;  the  fasces 
of  a  pnetor  or  consul  were  lowered  to  them ;  4uid  if  they  met  a 
oriminal  on  his  way  to  execution  he  was  repriered.'*  Ramsay, 
^OROii  Antiquities^  p.  16«i 


ANCIENT  PERU.  845 

^They  also  wove  doth  of  fine  cotton  and  vicuna 
^wool,  and  made  clothes  for  their  husband  the  Sun ; 
"but  as  the  celestial  spouse,  so  abundantly  cared 
ifor,  could  not  come  down  from  the  shy  to  take  these 
clothes,  the  Inca  took  and  wore  them.  We  are 
thus  prepared  for  the  information  that  the  Inca, 
.as  representative  of  the  Sun,  was  hus- 
l>and  of  all  these  consecrated  women,  concubinea  f or 

•m  •       1  ^^  Inca. 

Ine  convents  were  not  equivalent  to 
£astem  harems,  for  the  Inca  did  not  visit  them. 
£ut  he  sent  and  took  from  them  as  many  concu- 
"bines  as  he  wished  ;  those  who  were  not  thus  taken 
Temained  virgins.^  It  was  absolutely  required  that 
the  nuns  at  Cuzco  should  be  of  pure  Inca  blood ; 
and  as  every  reigning  Inca  had  two  or  three  hun- 
<lred  enumerated  children,^  the  race  seemed  to  be 
in  no  danger  of  dying  out 

The  theory  of  the  Inca's  person,  upon  which 
these  customs  were  based,  regarded  him  as  the 
liuman  representative  or  incarnation  of  the  solar 
deity.  He  was  the  Sun,  made  flesh  and  dwelling 
among  men.  Such  dignity  was  greater  than  that 
of  mediaeval  Pope  or  Emperor ;  it  was  eyen  greater 
than  that  of  the  Caliph,  who  was  a  Mussulman 
pope  and  emperor  combined ;  and  this  is  in  har- 

^  Many  interestiiig  details  coneerning  these  vestals  aie  g^ven 
in  Garcilasso,  lib.  iv.  caps.  i.-yiL 

^  How  many  more  he  may  have  had  cannot  be  reckoned.  Ap- 
parently any  woman  in  the  Inca's  dominions  might  at  any  time 
be  snmmoned  to  be  his  concubine,  and  felt  honoured  and  exalted 
by  the  summons.  Acc(H^ng  to  Ghurcilasso,  his  great-grandfather 
Tapac  Tnpanqui  had  200  children  in  his  family  (lib.  viii.  cap. 
ym.) ;  and  his  great-nnole  Huayna  Capao  had  from  200  to  300 
^ib.  ix.  cap.  xy.). 


346  TUE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

mony  with  the  view  that  the  Inea's  rule  was  prac- 
tically absolute.  As  for  instances  of  monarchs 
with  power  strictly  unlimited,  like  the  king  in  a 
fairy-tale,  they  are  not  easy  to  find  anywhere  in 
history. 

Great  pains  were  taken  to  keep  the  lineage  of 
this  august  person  as  narrowly  definite  as  possible. 

Theinoa'aie-  '^bc  luca  could  have  but  one  legitimate 
gitfmatowife.    ^jf^^  g^^j  j^  ^3^  imperatively  required 

that  she  should  be  his  full  sister,  —  the  child  cl 
the  same  father  by  the  same  mother.^  The  chil- 
dren of  the  Inca  by  this  incestuous  marriage  were 
thus  as  completely  and  narrowly  royal  in  blood  as 
possible,  and  the  eldest  son  vras  the  Intimate  heir 
to  the  kingdom.^  If  the  Inca  had  no  children  by 
his  eldest  sister,  he  married  the  second,  and  the 
third,  and  so  on,  until  a  legitimate  heir  was  bom 
to  him.  Only  such  an  heir  could  be  legitimate. 
The  Inea's  two  or  three  hundred  children  by  the 
vestals,  of  pure  Inca  blood,  were  counted  as  legiti- 
mate, but  could  not  inherit  the  kingship.  His 
children  by  ordinary  women  were  mere  bastards, 
and  coimted  for  nothing,  although  they  were  re- 
spected as  nobler  than  common  people. 

Such  notions  of  caste,  of  distinction  between 
noble  and  ignoble  blood,  such  extreme  deification 
of  the  military  head  of  the  community,  would 
have  been  inconceivable  in  any  part  of  aboriginal 

^  This  one  legitimate  wife  was  called  Coya,  equiTalent  to 
qneen.     See  GarcilassOf  lib.  iy.  cap.  ix. ;  Ciexa,  pt.  ii.  cap.  box. 

^  In  its  origin  this  rule  was  probably  a  derice  for  keepini^  the 
**  royal  sneoession  in  the  male  line,  where  otherwise  snccessioo 
through  females  prevailed."  See  Spencer,  PrimdpUt  of  8<h 
ciology,  voL  ii.  p.  346. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  847 

America  except  Peru.     In  purely  tribal  society 
there  is  no  such  thins:  as  caste,  no  such 

_  .  1  ^  1  Society  had 

imns:  as  monarchy.      Caste   and  mon-  undergone 

,  "  •   1     fi      •  further  devel- 

archy  are  results  of  the  partial  fusion  opmentin 

•^  .  ,      ,  *■  Peru  than 

of    tribal    societies    through    conquest,  eiaewherein 

America. 

The  conquering  tribe  becomes  the  rul- 
ing caste,  its  head  war-chief  becomes  the  semi- 
divine  monarch.  Nowhere  except  in  Peru  had 
there  been  enough  conquest  and  fusion  to  produce 
any  such  results.  The  Mexican  tlacatecuhtli  af- 
forded an  instance  of  primitive  kingship  developed 
almost  as  far  as  was  possible  in  a  purely  tribal 
society ;  he  was  a  priest-commander,  almost  but 
not  quite  equivalent  to  the  early  Greek  basileuSy 
or  priest- judge -commander.  If  the  conquering 
<»reer  of  the  Aztec  confederacy  had  gone  on  un- 
checked until  the  present  time,  it  would  probably 
Jiave  effected  a  military  occupation  of  the  whole 
Mexican  territory,  with  garrisons  in  the  principal 
3)ueblo-towns ;  the  calpixquiy  or  tax-gatherers, 
vould  probably  have  developed  into  permanent 
satraps  or  governors,  like  the  Peruvian  curacas ; 
the  Aztec  tribe  might  very  likely  have  developed 
into  a  ruling  caste,  supported  entirely  by  the 
labour  of  the  subjected  peoples ;  and  the  Aztec 
**  chief-of-men  "  might  well  have  become  exalted 
into  a  despot  like  Xerxes  or  Tupac  Yupanqui ;  while 
the  Aztec  tribal  council  would  have  come  to  be  an 
evanescent  affair  seldom  mentioned  by  historians, 
like  the  council  at  Cuzco. 

Thus  the  governmental  development  in  ancient 
Peru  was  such  as  to  indicate  that  society  must,  at 
least  in  some  respects,  have  passed  beyond  the 


848 


THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 


tribal  stage  as  exemplified  elsewhere  througlioat 

aboriginal  America.     We  have  other  indications 

of  a  similar  kind.     There  are  reasons  for  believ* 

ins  that  the  primitive  clan  system  wa& 

Bretldng  up  ®  >  t        y  ^  ii 

of  the  clan       to  a  vcry  Considerable  extent  broken  up. 

Upon  such  points,  indeed,  our 
tion  is  meagre  and  unsatisfactory.     The  ethnol 
gist  and  the  archaeologist  have  not  done  so  much  f  o 
usin  Peru  as  they  have  done  in  North  Amen 
There  is  much  need  in  this  field  for  work  like 
of  Morgan,  Gushing,  and  Bandolier.    It  would 
interesting  to  know,  for  example,   how  far  thi 
great  communal  house  or  fortress,  of  the  puebl 
type,  may  have    been    common   in   Peru.      On 
would  gladly  see  the  remarkable  ruins  at  Caxa: 
marquilla  ^  and. at  Chimu,^  near  Truxillo,  explo 
with   especial  reference  to  this   question.      If  i 
should  turn  out,  however,  that  these  and  othe 
structures  in  the  coast  region  are  the  remains  o: 
ancient  pueblos,  it  would  still  be  unsafe  to  infe 
too  hastily  that  the  state  of  society  implied  b 
them  was  like    that  which    prevailed   nearer  to 
Cuzco.     It  is  probable  that  before  the  Inca  con 
quests  the  entire  coast  region,  from  the  isthmus  o: 
Darien  to  Chili,  was  the  seat  of  a  semi-civilizatio 
in  many  respects  like  that  of  Mexico  and  Cen 
America,  in  some  respects  cruder.     These 
peoples  were   skilful   irrigators   and    built    h 
structures  of   adobe  brick;  they  were  canni 
they  sacrificed  human  beings  to  dog-headed  ida 
and  they  buried  widows  alive  with  their  dead  h 
bands.     All  such  heathenish  practices  the  conque 
^  Sqnkr's  PmmK  93.  *  I<f^  pp.  143>16l. 


AN  C  IE  XT  PERU.  349 

ing  Incas,  to  the  best  of  their  ability,  suppressed. 
If  we  were  to  infer,  from  the  cannibalism  prac- 
tised by  these  peoples,  that  the  Incas  were  like- 
^se  cannibals,  we  should  make  a  grave  mistake. 
It  would  clearly,  therefore,  be  unsafe  to  infer, 
irom  any  vestiges  of  communal  living  in  this 
region,  that  the  same  sort  of  communal  living 
formed  any  part  of  the  Inca  phase  of  society. 

In  this  connection  a  certain  passage  in  Garci- 
lasso  de  la  Vega  is  very  suggestive.  Eastward  of 
the  Andes,  in  a  part  of  what  is  now  Bolivia,  lived 
a  fierce  race  of  barbarians  called  Chiri-  ,j^^  ^^^^ 
huanas,  —  such  cannibals  that  "  if  they  ^»>*n»^ 
come  upon  shepherds  watching  sheep  [alpacas], 
they  prefer  one  shepherd  to  a  whole  flock  of 
sheep."  In  1572  (i.  e.  in  Garcilasso's  own  time, 
when  he  was  thirty-two  years  old),  the  viceroy 
Don  Francisco  de  Toledo  undertook  to  invade  the 
country  of  the  Chirihuanas  and  chastise  them  into 
good  behaviour.  But  their  country,  situated  on 
the  rainy  side  of  the  giant  mountains,  was  a  fright- 
ful maze  of  swampy  forests,  and  Don  Francisco 
was  baffled,  as  in  earlier  days  the  great  Inca  Pacha- 
cutec  had  been  baffled  in  the  same  enterprise. 
"  The  viceroy  came  back  as  a  fugitive,  having  left 
1)ehind  all  he  had  taken  with  him,  that  the  Indians 
might  be  satisfied  with  their  captures  and  leave 
liim  to  escape.  He  came  out  by  so  bad  a  road 
that,  as  the  beasts  were  unable  to  drag  the  litter 
in  which  he  travelled,  the  Spaniards  and  Indians 
lad  to  carry  him  on  their  shoulders.  The  Chiri- 
liuanas  followed  behind,  with  derisive  shouts,  and 
cried  out  to  the  bearers  to  throw  that  old  woman 


850  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

[his  Ughness,  the  viceroy !]  out  of  the  basket,  that 
they  might  eat  her  alive." 

Now  of  these  Chirihuanas  Grarcilasso  goes  on  to 
say  that  they  learned  from  the  Incas  how  to  make 
dwellings,  in  which  they  lived  in  common.     There 

Their  com-  ^^  *  possiblc  ambiguity  about  this  sen- 
munai  houset.  ^^^^^  jf  j^  jg  carclcssly  read.     From  the 

context  I  understand  it  to  mean,  not  that  the  Incas 
taught  them  their  communal  style  of  living,  in 
which  they  resembled  sava&:es  and  low  barbarians 
generally  ;\ut  that  ^ej  copied  from  neighbouring 
peoples  under  Inca  sway  certain  building  arts 
which  they  applied  to  their  own  purposes.  Per- 
haps  Garcilasso  is  mistaken  in  supposing  that  they 
learned  their  art  of  building  from  the  Incas ;  for 
on  that  point  he  speaks  as  an  antiquary.  In  the 
next  sentence  be  speaks  as  a  contemporary.  A 
Chirihuana  dwelling,  he  says,  is  a  very  large'  house, 
divided  into  as  many  apartments  as  there  are  fam- 
ilies; these  apartments,  though  small,  are  quite 
sufficient  for  people  without  much  encumbrance  in 
the  shape  of  clothes  or  household  furniture ;  and 
each  great  house  may  be  called  a  village  (^pvMo). 
Upon  such  a  state  of  things  Grarcilasso  looks  with 
some  disgust.  "  This  is  enough  to  say  about  the 
brutal  condition  and  manner  of  life  of  the  Chiri- 
huanas, and  it  will  be  a  great  marvel  if  we  are 
able  to  draw  them  out  of  it."  ^ 

^  "  Tambien  aprendieron  los  Chirihiianas  de  lo8  Incas  &  hazer 
casas  para  su  morada^  no  particalaies,  sino  en  comnn :  porqne 
liazen  on  g^lpon  grandissimo,  y  dentro  tantos  apartadijos  qnantos 
son  lo8  vezinos,  y  tan  peqneilos  qne  no  caben  mas  de  las  personas 
J  les  basta  porqne  no  tienen  axnar  ni  ropa  de  vestir,  qne  andan 
en  eneros.    Y  desta  manera  se  podra  Uamar  pueblo  cada  galpoo 


ANCIENT  PERU.  851 

This  is  not  the  way  in  which  the  Inea  historian 
^vould  have  mentioned  pueblo-houses  if  he  had 
1>een  familiar  with  them  from  boyhood.  He  tells 
us,  moreover,  that  the  Peruvians  of  whom  he  had 
personal  knowledge,  in  Cuzco  and  other  cities,  did 
not  join  their  houses  together,  but  each  one  stood 
T>y  itself ;  on  one  side  was  usually  a  large  living 
Toom,  on  the  other  were  small  chambers  and 
<;iosets.^  The  inference,  that  the  normal  Peruvian 
Ihousehold  was  a  family  and  not  a  clan,  is  supported 
l>y  the  fact  that  in  the  remarkably  symmetrical 
and  artificial  organization  of  society,  about  to  be 
described,  the  unit  of  composition  was  not  the 
«lan,  but  the  family  averaging  five  or  six  persons. 

It  is  quite  in  harmony  with  such  a  stage  of  family 
development  that  marriage  was  ordinarily  indissol- 
uble ;  ^  that  most  men  had  but  one  wife, 

.■  1      .  ,    .  I  Monogamy. 

though  m  certam  cases  polygamy  was 
permissible;^    and  that  prostitutes  were  treated 

<[e  aqneUos.  Esto  ea  lo  que  ay  que  dezir  acerca  de  la  bmta  con- 
<Iicion  y  vida  de  los  ChiiihuanaSf  que  sera  gran  marauilla  pod^rlos 
«acar  della."  Garcilaaso,  lib.  vii.  cap.  xvii.  (Lisbon,  1600).  In 
lufl  translation  of  this  passage  Mr.  Markham  is  evidently  wrong 
«8  to  the  meaning  of  that  tricksomo  word  vezinos  ;  here  it  clearly 
means  families,  not  indiyidnals.  Garcilasso  surely  did  not  mean 
to  describe  the  house  as  "  divided  into  as  many  partitions  as  there 
^re  inhabitants.^* 

^  "  Advertimos  qne  los  Indies  del  Peru  ...  no  trauauan  vnas 
pie^^  con  otras,  sino  que  todas  las  hazian  sueltas  cada  vna  de 
porai :  quando  mucho  de  vna  muy  gran  sala  o  quadra  sacauan  a 
Tn  lado,  y  a  otro  sendos  aposentoe  pequeflos  que  seruian  de  re- 
camaras/'  lib.  vi.  cap.  iv. 

^  Report  by  Cristoval  de  Molina,  in  Markham's  Rites  and  Laws 
of  the  Yncas^  London,  1873  (Hakluyt  Soc.),  p.  54. 

•  "  When  any  man  had  received  a  woman  as  his  legitimate  wife 
cr  mamanchUf  he  could  not  take  another  except  through  t}\e  favour 


352  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

as  outside  the  pale  of  society.  They  were  obliged 
to  live  in  huts  in  the  fields,  outside  of  the  towns, 
and  were  called  pampayruna^  or  "  women  of  the 
fields."  They  were  treated  by  men  "  with  extreme 
contempt.  Women  could  not  speak  to  them,  on 
pain  of  receiving  the  same  name,  being  shorn  in 
public,  declared  as  infamous,  and  repudiated  by 
their  husbands  if  married."  ^ 

Such  a  development  of  the  family  indicates  a 
Hm  indiutrui  gTcat  advaucc  from  the  primitive  type 
*™^'  of  clan  organization.     But  the  extent  to 

which  tlie  clan  system  had  been  broken  up  and 
superseded  by  a  very  peculiar  and  artificial  sys- 
tem is  illustrated  in  the  industrial  organization  of 
the  Peruvian  })eople  in  their  village  communities. 
There  everj^thing  was  arranged  as  symmetrically 
as  in  the  administration  of  departments,  arrondisse- 
ments,  cantons,  and  communes  in  modern  France  ; 
and  such  symmetiy  of  an^angement  is  explicable 
only  as  the  result  of  the  action  of  a  more  or  less 

of  the  Inca,  which  was  shown  for  Tarious  reasons,  either  to  one 
who  had  special  skill  in  any  art,  or  to  one  who  had  shown  valour 
in  war,  or  had  pleased  the  Inca  in  any  other  way/'  Report  by 
Polo  de  Ondeg^ardo,  in  Markham,  op.  cit.  p.  1(3(5. 

^  Garcilasso,  lib.  iv.  cap.  xiv.  There  is  a  double  entendre  in  the 
word  pampayruna ;  inasmuch  as  pampa  means  not  only  a  field, 
but  is  also  sometimes  used  to  designate  a  public  square,  open  to 
aU  comers,  so  pampayruna  conveys  the  meaning  of  a  public 
woman  or  strumpet  They  were  never  called  by  their  names, 
says  Garcilasso,  but  only  by  this  scornful  epithet ;  i.  e.  they  lost 
personality  and  were  no  longer  entitled  to  personal  names,  but 
only  to  a  common  noun.  The  Ineas  preserved  tlie  tradition  of  a 
former  state  of  comparative  promiscuity,  and  witli  tliis  former 
state,  as  well  as  with  the  loose  sexual  relations  among  iieig'hbour- 
ing  peoples,  they  contrasted  the  higher  development  of  the  family 
among  themselves.    /</.,  lib.  i.  caps,  xiv.,  xv. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  353 

thoroughly  centralized  government.      This  indus- 
trial organization   in  ancient  Peru  was    really  a 
military  organization   applied   to   industrial   piu*- 
poses;    it  was    a    system   of    army   government 
extended  through  the  whole  framework  of  society. 
[Families  and  villages  were  organized  upon  a  deci- 
mal  system,  like  companies  and  regiments.     The 
average  monogamous  family  of  five  persons  was  the 
Tinit.    Ten  such  families  made  a  chunca,  ten  chuii- 
<as  made  one  pachaca^  ten  pachacaa  one  huaranca^ 
^md  ten  huarancas  one  hunu^  so  that  a  hunu  was 
St  district  with  a  population  of  about  50,000  per- 
sons.^    Each  of  these  decimal  subdivisions  had  its 
3>Fesiding  officer,  who  was  responsible  directly  to 
liis  inmiediate  superior  and  idtimately  to  the  Inca. 
**  The  decurion  was  obliged  to  perform  two  duties 
in  relation  to   the  men   composing  his   division. 
One  was  to  act  as  their  caterer,  to  assist  them 
with  his  diligence  and  care  on  all  occasions  when 
they  required   help,  reporting  their  necessities  to 
the  governor  or  other  officer,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
supply  seeds  when  they  were  required  for  sowing ; 
or  cloth  for  making  clothes  ;  or  to  help  to  rebuild 
a  house  if  it  fell  or  was  burnt  down ;  or  whatever 
other  need  they  had,  great  or  small.     The  othei- 
duty  was  to  act  as  a  crown  officer,  reporting  every 
offence,  how  slight  soever  it  might  be,  committed 
T)y  his  people,  to  his   superior,  who   either  pro- 
nounced  the  punishment  or  referred  it  to  another 
officser  of  stiU  higher  rank."  2 

^  Ondegardo,  in  Markham,  op,  cit.  p.  155 ;  Garcilasso,  lib.  ii. 
«ap.  xL 

^  GarcilassOf  lib.  ii.  cap.  xiL 


S54  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

The  land  was  divided  into  little  areas  called 
tupus,  one  tupu  being  enough  to  support  a  man 
.„  ^   .  M    and  his  wife.     As  fast  as  children  were 

Allotment  ox 

i^jjjd  bom,  "another  tupu  was  granted  for 
each  boy,  and  half  a  tupu  for  each 
girL"  ^  This  land  did  not  belong  to  the  family  or 
its  head,  but  to  the  chunca  or  village  community ; 
and  as  the  chunca  was  originally  reckoned  the 
equivalent  of  an  ayllu^  or  "  lineage,"  we  have  here 
a  connecting  link  between  this  elaborate  system 
and  the  earlier  system  of  clan  ownership  which  pre- 
ceded it.^  The  ayllu^  or  fragment  of  an  overgrown 
and  disintegrated  clan,  was  trinuned  into  a  definite 
size,  and  thus  survived  as  the  chunca  in  the  new 
decimal  system.  The  chunca  owned  the  land  in  the 
sense  of  occupying  it,  and  at  intervals  of  time  there 
was  a  redistribution  of  it,  in  order  to  maintain 
equality,  as  among  the  ancient  Germans  and  the 
modem  Russians.^  The  produce  of  the  land  was 
divided  into  three  shares,  one  for  the  Inca,  one  for 
the  priesthood,  one  for  the  people.  Every  man 
who  had  been  present  at  the  sowing  had  his  equal 
share  of  the  people's  third ;  if  he  had  not  been  pres- 
ent at  the  sowing,  it  was  because  he  was  absent 
in  the  Inca's  service  (as,  for  example,  on  a  cam- 
paign), and  thus  he  had  his  share  in  the  Inca's 

^  Garcilasso,  lib.  v.  cap.  iii. 

^  See  Bandelier's  remarks  on  Pemvian  land-tenure,  in  Peabodj 
Museum  Reports^  toI.  ii.  p.  423. 

*  Maine,  Village  Communities^  London,  1871 ;  Nasse,  J%e  Agri- 
cultured  Community  in  the  Middle  AgeSj  Tendon,  1872  ;  Phear,  The 
Aryan  Village  in  India  and  Ceylon^  London,  1880 ;  Mackenzie 
Wallace^B  Russia,  London,  1877 ;  Laveleye,  Primitive  Property^ 
London,  1878. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  366 

liiird ;  or  else  he  had  been  employed  in  work  about 
the  temples,  and  accordingly  took  his  share  from 
"the  priesthood's  third.     There  was  no  room  for 
idlers  or  for  millionaires.  There  were  special  census 
officers,  statistics  were  strictly  kept  on  the  quipus^ 
and  allotments  made  accordingly.     Irrigation  and 
iillage  were  directed  by  the  decurion,  or  village 
overseer.     K  a  village  suffered  from  war,  or  pesti- 
lence, or  earthquake,  assessments  were  made  upon 
more  fortunate  villages  for  repairing  the  damage. 
On  the  whole  it  was  the  most  complete  illustration 
of  government  socialism  that  the  historian  can  dis- 
cover by  looking  backward. 

One  is  quite  prepared  to  learn  that  in  such  a 
society  as  this  there  was  very  little  di- 
vision of  labour.    "  They  had  no  special  divuion  of 

''  ,  labour. 

tradesmen,  as  we  have,  such  as  tailors, 
shoemakers,  or  weavers ;  but  each  man  learnt  all, 
so  that  he  coidd  himself  make  all  that  he  required. 
All  men  knew  how  to  weave  and  make  clothes ;  so 
that  when  the  Inca  gave  them  wool,  it  was  as  good 
as  giving  them  clothes.  All  could  till  and  manure 
the  land  without  hiring  labourers.  All  knew  how 
to  build  houses.  And  the  women  knew  all  these 
arts  also,  practising  them  with  great  diligence  and 
helping  their  husbands."  ^  A  society  in  which 
division  of  labour  had  been  considerably  developed 
woidd  not  have  lent  itself  so  readily  to  such  a  mo- 
notonous and  spiritless  regimentation  as  that  of  the 
Incas.  As  already  observed,  this  system,  which 
seems  to  have  been  fully  developed  by  the  time 
that  the   extensive   conquests   began  under  Vira- 

^  Garoilasso,  lib.  y.  cap.  ix. 


856  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

cocha  Inca,  and  which  was  imposed  successive! 
upon  one   conquered    people    after  another,  w 
really  an  application  of  military  organization 
industrial  purposes,  and   was   incompatible  wi 
advanced  progress  in  industrial  art.     As  Her 
Spencer  observes,  in  considering  what  constitui 
a  true  industrial  society,  we  are  concerned,  ^^n< 
with  the  quantity  of  labour  but  with  the  mode  o: 
organization  of  the  labourers.     A  regiment  of  sol 
diers  can  be  set  to  construct  earthworks ;  anothe 
to  cut  down  wood ;  another  to  bring  in  water ;  bu 
they  are  not  thereby  reduced  for  the  time  bein; 
to  an  industrial  society.     The  united 
do  these  things  under  command ;  and,  having  n 
private  claims  to  the  products,  are,  though  ind 
trially  occupied,  not  industrially  organized."  ^ 

We  are  here  brought  back  to  the  statement, 
made  some  time  since,^  that  in  Peni  the  formation 
of  nationality,  with  the  evolution  of  a  distinct 
governing  class,  took  place  before  there  had  been 
any  considerable  development  of  the  idea  of  pri- 
vate property ;  so  that  the  residt  was  a  state  or- 
ganized upon  the  principle  of  communistic  despot- 
ism.    It  was  a  kind  of  industrial  army. 

K  we  recur  now  to  the  tripartite  division  of  the 
produce  of  the  land,  we  observe  that  it  was  an 
army  in  which  the  lion's  share  of  this  produce  wvls 
consumed  in  the  support  of  the  administration. 
One  third  of  the  crop  was  evenly  divided  among 
the  cultivators  ;  two  thirds  really  went  to  the  gov- 

^  Spencer,  Principles  of  Sociology^  voL  ii.  p.  694,  where  the 
of  Peru  is  cited  in  points 
^  See  aboyCi  p.  319. 


ANCIENT  PEBU.  357 

«mment  in  the  shape  of  taxes.  Members  of  the 
tica  nobility  and  the  priesthood,  as  non-producers, 
contributed  nothing  to  these  taxes,  but  were  sup- 
ported out  of  that  portion  of  them  which  re- 
mained after  military  and  other  administrative 
outlays  had  been  made.  The  taxes  were  paid  in 
crops,  woollen  or  cotton  cloth,  shoes,  weapons,  coca, 
or  in  cables  for  moving  great  stones.' 

With  this  niilitarj  organization  of  labour  it 
becomes  possible  to  understand  how  such  buildings 
as  the  Sacsahuaman  fortress  could  have  been  reared 
by  people  but  slightly  acquainted  with  the  art  of 
engineering.  The  marvellous  and  impressive  fea^ 
ture  in  this  cyclopean  architecture  is  cyciopMn 
simply  its  massiveness.  We  do  not  '™^ 
admire  it  as  an  expression  of  intellectual  quali- 
ties, as  we  praise  a  Greek  temple  for  Its  beauty,  or 
a  Gothic  church  for  its  sublimity.  Not  even  as 
fine  mason-work,  in  the  modei-n  sense  of  the  term, 
does  it  appeal  to  us.  It  simply  amazes  us  with  it« 
herculean  exhibition  of  brute  force.  The  Sacsa- 
hnaman  fortress  was  built  of  unhewn  stones,  often 
quite  irregular  in  shape  and  very  imequal  in  size, 
so  chosen  as  to  fit  together  without  mortar.  The 
marvel  of  it  is  simply  how  the  huge  stones  could 
have  been  dragged  to  the  spot  and  hoisted  into 
place.  A  certain  Spanish  priest  asked  Garoilasso 
"  whether  it  was  possible  to  put  them  in  their  po- 
sitions without  the  aid  of  the  Devil "  ^     But  the 

'  OaicilasBO,  lib.  v.  cap.  vi. ;  Cleia  de  Leon,  pt.  iL  csp.  xriii. 

^  GarcilaaBo,  lib.  lii.  cap.  nviii.  Mr.  HarkbuD,  from  his  own 
nwaBarements,  gireg  some  of  the  liiea  of  itoDes  in  tlie  ooter  wall 
as  fourteen  feet  b;  eight,  fourteen  bj  twelve,  aixleeu  feet  nz 
iacbet  b;  mi  feet  one  iuob,  etc. 


858 


THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 


amautas  doubtless  told  the  truth  when  they 
it  was  all  done  by  an  enormous  expenditure  of  hu^ 
man  brawn  and  sinew.     Of  one  huge  monoli 
famous  as  the  ^^  tired  stone  "  because  ^^  it  becami 
tired  and  could  not  reach  its  place,"  the  amaw 
said  that  more  than  20,000  Indians  were  employ 
in  dragging  it  with  stout  cables.     The  condition 
of  the  case  were  not  so  very  unlike  those  iinde 
which  the  pyramids  of  Egypt  were  erected,  thoug 
the  architecture  and  maaon-work  of  the  latter 
of  far  higher  type  and  show  much  more  range  o: 
thought  than  any  ancient  structures  in  the  Ne 
Gommimirtic    World.^     So  far  as  mere  command  o 
deipotiBm.       humau  labour  went,   the   communistic 
despotism  of  Peru  could  do  things  similar  in  kind^ 
though  lesser  in  degree,  to  the  despotism  of  the 
Pharaohs. 

This  industrial  army  succeeded,  as  we  have  seen, 
in  carrying  agriculture  to  a  considerable  degree  of 
perfection.  The  extent  to  which  every  available 
spot  of  ground  was  utilized  indicates  a  somewhat 
dense  population,  though  it  must  be  remembered 
that  much  of  the  area  included  within  the  Inca's 
dominions  was  wild  land  unsuitable  for 
cultivation.  Grardens  were  carried  up 
the  mountain-sides  on  terraces,  as  in  modem  Italy. 

*  See  Rawlinson^s  History  of  Egypt,  vol.  i  pp.  182-211.  Ac- 
cording to  Herodotus  (iL  124, 12.5)  the  Ghreat  Pyramid  consumed 
the  labour  of  100,000  men  for  thirty  years.  Such  munben  must 
be  understood  with  much  latitude.  The  Egyptians  had  oxen,  and, 
according  to  Herodotus,  made  use  of  inclined  planes  in  working 
upon  the  pyramids.  Possibly  the  PeruTians  may  hare  1>een  able 
here  and  there  to  utilize  the  principle  of  the  inclined  plane.  For 
some  reroarks  on  early  Phcenician  building,  see  Brown^s  Poseidon^ 
pp.  21,  27. 


AgrieultuTe. 


AXCIEXT  PERU.  359 

IMr.  Markliam  says  tliat  the  finest  Sea  Island  cotton 
of  our  day  is  not  superior  to  the  best  crops  raised 
under  the  Incas^  The  potato  and  maize  crops  were 
also  very  fine.  If  Thorfinn  Karlsef  ni  and  his  men 
had  seen  Peruvian  maize-fields,  they  would  not 
have  fancied  that  such  corn  grew  wild.  As  for 
the  Peruvian  wools,  we  are  beginning  to  learn  that 
in  comparison  with  the  vicuna  all  other  material 
for  clothing  seems  both  cumbrous  and  coarse.^ 

The  vicu£[a  and  the  huanacu  were  the  wild  ani- 
mals hunted  by  the  Peruvians,  but  a  very  tame 
afiFair  was  this  hunting  as  compared  with  gallop- 
ing after  the  hoimds  in  England.  There  was  no 
chance  for  sport;  everything  in  this  industrial 
army  must  be  done  to  order.  Nobody  was  allowed 
to  kill  one  of  these  animals,  except  at  the  period- 
ical government  hunts,  in  which  whole  ooTeniinent 
villages,  led  by  their  overseers,  took  ^"°^* 
part.  The  people  surrounded  their  game  and  closed 
in  on  it,  and  then  it  was  methodically  disposed  of, 
—  some  of  the  beasts  released  till  next  time,  some 
shorn  and  then  released,  some  killed  for  the  table. 
A  strict  record  of  all  this  was  kept  on  the  quipus 
by  the  census  officer,  —  a  thing,  says  Polo  de  Onde- 
gardo,  "  which  it  would  be  difficult  for  me  to  be- 
lieve if  I  had  not  seen  it."  ^    The  huanacu  wool 

^  The  Spaniards  were  not  long  in  learning  the  merits  of  the 
Ticnfia's  fleece.  Blankets  made  of  it  were  sent  to  Spain  for  the 
l>ed  of  Philip  11. ;  see  Garcilasso,  lih.  vi.  cap.  i. 

'  Markham*s  Rites  and  Laws  of  the  Yru:as,  p.  165.  Mr.  Dar- 
^n  has  pointed  oat  how  the  selection  of  certain  of  these  animals 
:^or  slaughter  and  others  for  release  and  further  breeding  was  so 
Tnanaged  as  to  improve  the  race.  Variation  of  Animals  and 
Plants  under  Domestication^  vol.  ii.  p.  208. 


860  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

was  divided  among   the   people,  but  the  vicuSa 
wool  was  reserved  for  those  of  Inca  blood. 

Of  these  wools,  as  well  as  of  the  cottons,  fine 
cloth  was  woven  and  dyed  of  various  hues,^  and 
ornamental  tapestries  were  wrought  and  embroi- 
dered.     Gold  was  obtained  with  ease 

Arta. 

and  in  great  quantity  by  washing  the 
sands  of  the  rivers  in  the  province  of  Caravaya. 
Blast  furnaces  were  used  for  smelting  silver.  Gold 
and  silver  were  valued  for  their  beauty,  and  re- 
served for  the  Inca  or  for  use  in  the  temples,  and 
dishes,  vases,  and  trinkets  innumerable  were  made 
of  them.  But  there  was  no  currency  or  money  of 
any  kind.^  All  trade  was  simple  barter,  but  in 
using  scales  and  estimating  certain  goods  by  weight, 
the  Peruvians  were  more  advanced  than  the  people 
of  Mexico.  In  their  implements  of  war  and  hus- 
bandry, which  were  fashioned  in  bronze,  they  were 
far  superior  to  the  Aztecs.  In  the  pottery,  which 
was  made  in  great  abundance,  the  superiority  was 
perhaps  less  marked.  In  certain  arts  and  inven- 
tions they  had  not  advanced  so  far  as  the  people 
of  Mexico;  their  balsas^  or  rafts,^  for  example, 
were  rude  contrivances  compared  to  the  nimble 
Mexican  canoes. 

If  we  compare  the  culture  of  ancient  Peru,  as 
a  whole,  with  that  of  the  Mexicans  and  Mayas, 
we  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  contrast.  In 
some  points  it  was  further  removed  from  savagery 

^  For  the  excellent  fast  vegetable  dyes,  see  Garcilasso,  voL  L 
p.  819,  Markham's  note. 

2  Garcilasso,  lib.  v.  cap.  vii. ;  lib.  vi.  caps,  i.,  iL 
>  Qaroilasso,  lib.  ill.  cap.  xri 


ANCIENT  PERU.  3G1 

Iby   nearly  the  full  length  of  an  ethnical  period. 

irhe  cardinal  points  of  superiority  were  the  fur- 

^tiier  development  of  the  monogamous  family,  the 

^.dvance  from  tribal  confederation  to-  oenendwim- 

^iWBxd  rudimentary  nationality,  the  pro-  ^^^' 

^ress  into  a  more   spiritual  form   of  polytheism 

^^th  the  abandoning  of  himian  sacrifices  and  can- 

3iibalism,  the  domestication  of   animals  and  fur- 

-tiier  development  of  agriculture,  the  improvement 

u   roads,  and  the   prevailing  use  of    bronze  for 

^weapons  and  tools.     This  further  progress  from 

savagery  was,  however,  attended  with  some  disad- 

-v^antages.      In  becoming   nationalized,   the    Inca 

government  had  stiffened  into  despotism,^  as  was 

«ure  to  be  the  case  with  all  nations  formed  before 

i;he    comparatively  modem    development   of    the 

ideas  of  legal  contract  and  political  represeuta- 

iion ;  and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  peculiar  form  of 

"this  despotism  was   communistic  because  it  grew 

up  among  a  people  whose  ideas  of  private  property 

were  sidU  veiy  unperfectiy  developed. 

In  point  of  humaneness  and  refinement  the 
people  of  Peru  were  unquestionably  superior  to 
^the  Mayas  and  Mexicans.      Their  criminal  ^code 

^  As  coDtrasted  with  the  Peravians,  the  tribes  of  Mexico  and 
Kjeaatnl  America  thus  possessed  an  advantage  somewhat  analogous 
-to  that  of  the  Germans  whom  Tacitns  knew  over  the  Romans  of  his 
^wn  time  with  whom  he  so  suggestively  compared  them.  They 
retained  plasticity,  whereas  the  society  governed  by  the  Incas  had 
1»ecome  rigid.  The  greatest  of  ail  the  inherited  advantages  which 
■l^nglish-speaking  people  to-day  enjoy  is  the  fact  that  our  ances- 
'ttal  Teutonic  society  retained  its  tribal  mobility  and  plasticity  of 
«vganization  to  so  late  a  period  in  history  that  it  was  able  to  profit 
%(i  the  fullest  extent  by  Roman  oivilization  without  being  swamped 
l>y  Roman  impeiialism. 


862 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 


was  severe,  and  now  and  then  we  read  of  whol 
sale  beheadings  for  trea^n,  or  of 
oners  being  burned  alive ;  ^  but  in  ci 
ized  Europe  one  need  go  back  scarcely  a  centm^cr 
to  find  the  guillotine  busy  in  Paris,  and  scarced 
more  than  a  century  to  witness  an  auto  de  fe 
Spain, — not  of  criminals,  but  of  useful  and  me 
torious  free-thinkers.     On  the  whole,  for  a  societz^^ 
in  most  respects  within  the  middle  period  of 
barism,  for  a  society  less  advanced  in 
than  the  Egyptians  of  the  Old  Empire,  it  w 
appear  that  the  Inca  society  was  remarkable  f< 
mildness  and  humanity.     It  was  not  cursed, 
Mexico,  with  the  daily  spectacle  of  men  and  w 
men  torn  open  and  cut  into  pieces.    It  looked 
such  people  as  the  Chibchas  as  ferocious 
rians,  and  it  would  have  justly  entertained  a  si 
ilar  opinion  of  the  people  of  Uxmal  and  Tezcuco 
it  had  known  anything  about  them.     The  pages 
Cieza  de  Leon  bear  frequent  testimony  to  the  cl 
ency  and  moderation  of  the  Incas  in  many  oX.  th 
dealings  with  vanquished  peoples ;  and  one 
upon  which  he  speaks  emphatically,  is  quite 
tling  in  its  unlikeness  to  what  was  common  in 
cient  society.     Soldiers  were  forbidden  to 
under  penalty  of    death,  and   this   rule  was 
forced.* 

With  regard  to  intellectual  culture,  as  exhibi 
in   literary  production,  the  Peruvians  were  at 
disadvantage  compared  to  the  peoples  north  of 
isthmus  of   Darien.     The  data  for  a  compari 
are  meagre  indeed.     There  was  some  written 

^  QaroilaaBo,  lib.  iii.  cap-  iv.  ^  CietAf  pi.  ii.  cap. 


ANCIENT  PERU.  863 

eratiire,  as  we  have  seen,  among  the  Mexican  and 
^MayarQuiehd  peoples,  but  very  little  of  intenectau 
.it  remains  in  a  decipherable  state.  Such  «»**«^ 
of  it  as  is  still  accessible  to  the  modem  reader  is, 
of  course,  rude  and  primitive  in  thought  and  sen- 
timent. The  Nahuatl  hymns  collected,  by  Dr. 
Brinton,  in  his  ^^  Rig'-Veda  Americanus,"  are  quite 
childlike  as  compared  to  the  hymns  of  the  great 
Rig- Veda  of  the  Aryans.  Of  Peruvian  thought, 
as  expressed  in  poetry,  we  know  even  less  than  of 
Mexican.  The  Incas  had  bardic  recitals  and  the- 
atrical exhibitions ;  and  one  ancient  Inca  drama, 
entitled  ^'  OUanta,"  has  come  down  to  us.^  It  is 
a  love  story,  with  the  scene  laid  in  the  time  of  the 
great  Inca  Pachacutec ;  it  would  make  a  pleasant 
scene  upon  the  stage,  and  is  imdeniably  a  pretty 
poem.  We  have  already  mentioned  the  special 
<Jass  of  amautas^  or  ^^wise  men,"  differentiated 
from  the  priesthood,  whose  business  it  was  to  pre- 
serve historic  traditions  and  literary  compositions. 
But  unfortunately  the  Peruvian  method  of  record- 
ing admitted  of  no  considerable  development  in 
such  sort  of  work.  It  led  nowhere.  Now  and 
then  we  see  animals,  such  as  starfishes,  which  have 
started  on  a  path  of  development  that  can  lead 
only  a  very  little  way.  In  that  queer  spiny  radi- 
ated structure  there  are  nothing  like  the  possibil- 
ities of  further  evolution  that  there  are  in  the  soft, 
loosely-segmented,  and  mobile  worm ;  and  so  the 
starfish  stays  where  he  is,  but  from  the  worm  come 

^  OUanta:  an  Ancient  Tnca  Drama.  Translated  from  the 
original  Qnichna  by  Clements  R.  Markham,  London,  1871 ;  later 
editions  are  those  of  2^garra  (Paris,  1878)  and  Middendorf 
(Leipsio,  1890) ;  the  last  is  the  most  accurate. 


864  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

insects  and  vertebrates.  So  with  their  knotted  and 
twisted  cords  the  Peruvians  could  keep  rude  rec- 
ords for  a  time,  but  in  such  a  method  there  were 
no  future  possibilities.  One  might  sooner  expect 
to  see  systems  of  higher  arithmetic  and  algebra 
developed  with  Roman  instead  of  Arabic  numerals, 
than  to  see  a  true  literature  developed  with  quipua 
instead  of  hieroglyphs.  Until  the  Incas  had  either 
devised  some  better  method  or  learned  it  from 
other  people,  their  literary  period  would  have  had 
to  wait.  But  the  Mexicans,  and  still  more  the 
Mayas,  with  their  hieroglyphics,  had  started  on 
the  road  that  leads  by  natural  stages  to  that  grand 
achievement  of  the  human  mind,  supreme  in  its 
endless  possibilities,  the  achievement  which  more 
than  any  other  marks  the  boundary-line  between 
barbarism  and  civilization,  between  the  twilight  of 
archaeology  and  the  daylight  of  history,  —  the  pho- 
netic alphabet,  the  A  B  C. 

Here  we  may  bring  to  a  close  this  brief  sketch 
of  the  Inca  society,  one  of  the  most  curious  and 
instructive  subjects  to  which  the  student  of  history 
can  direct  his  attention.  In  the  next  chapter  we 
shall  see  the  elements  of  weakness  in  that  primi- 
tive form  of  nationality,  characterized  by  conquest 
with  imperfect  fusion,  well  illustrated  by  the  ease 
with  which  a  handful  of  Spaniards  seized  and  kept 
control  over  the  dominions  of  the  Incas. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  CONQUEST   OF  PERU. 

The  chain  of  circumstances  that  led  to  the  dis- 
covery and  conquest  of  Peru,  like  the  chain  that 
led  to  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  had  its  origin  in 
the  island  of  Hispaniola,  and  was  closely  con- 
nected with  the  calamitous  work  of  colonizing  the 
isthmus  of  Darien.  In  July,  1509,  Diego  Colum- 
bus, bringing  with  him  his  vice-queen  Maria  de 
Toledo,  came  out  to  San  Domingo,  to 

-  -  ,11         Relatlooa  of 

enter  upon   the  government  and  colo-  theAdmini 

.       ..  e  -I  .    •  111  Diego  Colum- 

nization  of  such  countries  as  had  been  bun  to  th« 
discovered  by  his  father,  as  well  as  of 
such  a«  might  be  discovered  by  himself  or  his 
appointed  captains.  Such  at  least  was  his  own 
theory  of  the  situation,  but  the  crown  took  a  dif- 
ferent view  of  it.  As  we  have  seen,  Diego  had 
already  set  on  foot  a  law-suit  against  the  crown 
to  determine  the  extent  of  his  rights  and  privi- 
leges, and  matters  were  to  come  to  such  a  pass 
that  in  four  yeai*s  an  attempt  was  to  be  made  to 
invalidate  his  father's  claim  to  the  discovery  of 
the  Pearl  Coast.  We  have  already  made  some 
mention  of  that  attempt  and  its  failure,  in  the 
great  judicial  inquiry  usually  known  in  this  con- 
nection as  the  Probamaa.  The  result  of  that 
inquiry  was  entirely  favourable  to  Columbus,  but 


3GG  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

anything  like  practical  control  over  the  aflfairs  of 
Terra  Firma  had  already  been  virtually  taken 
out  of  Diego's  hands.  We  have  seen  that  the 
immediate  result  of  the  third  voyage  of  Colmnbos, 
in  which  the  rich  Pearl  Coast  was  discovered, 
was  the  sending  of  an  expedition  by  his  enemy 
Fonseca  to  the  same  region.  This  was  the  ex- 
pedition of  1499,  commanded  by  Alonso  de  Ojeda, 
and  from  that  time  forth  Ojeda  was  closely  asso- 
ciated with  this  coast,  made  further  explorations 
there,  and  was  appointed  governor  of  the  small 
island  of  Coquibacoa.  La  Cosa  and  Vespacius, 
also,  who  had  been  Ojeda's  pilots  in  1499,  did 
further  work  in  this  neighbourhood.  We  have 
seen  these  two  great  navigators,  in  1505  and  1507, 
exploring  the  gulf  of  Darien  and  the  Atrato  river, 
where  they  had  hoped  to  find  a  passage  to  the 
Moluccas.  Instead  of  such  a  passage  they  found 
gold  in  the  river-beds.  After  their  return  we 
have  seen  Vespucius  made  pilot  major  of  Spain, 
and  La  Cosa  made  ^^  alguazil  mayor,"  or  high  con- 
stable, of  a  colony  about  to  be  foimded  at  Darien. 
Now  if  King  Ferdinand  had  been  well  disposed 
toward  Diego  Columbus  and  his  claims  he  would 
naturally  have  entrusted  this  important  enterprise 
_  ^  ^  to  his  uncle  Don  Biu-tholomew,  about 
TerraFiniui  whosc  ability  and  mtegnty  there  could 
Ojodaandm-   be  uo  qucstion.     But  the  relations  of 

OIMML 

the  crown  to  the  Columbus  claims  made 
any  such  appointment  impossible,  and  the  goy- 
emorship  was  given  to  the  brave  but  inocMnpetent 
Ojeda.  About  the  same  time  Diego  de  Nicuesa, 
another  court  &vourite  like  Ojeda,  but  better 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU,  367 

educated  and  of  finer  mould,  applied  for  the  same 
position,  aud  King  Ferdinand  arranged  the  matter 
by  creating  two  provinces,  one  for  each  favourite. 
The  country  between  the  gulfs  of  Uraba  (Darien) 
and  Maracaibo  was  to  be  the  province  for  Ojeda, 
while  the  Veragua  and  Honduras  coasts,  from  the 
gulf  of  Uraba  to  Cape  Gracias  a  Dies,  were  as- 
signed to  Nicuesa.  The  former  province  did  not 
trench  upon  any  territory  discovered  by  Colum- 
bus, but  the  latter  was  chiefly  made  up  of  coasts 
first  visited  by  him,  and  the  appointment  of  Ni- 
cuesa was  hardly  less  than  an  affront  to  the  Admi- 
ral Diego. 

Thus  when  the  joint  expedition  was  getting 
ready  to  start  from  Hispaniola,  in  the  autumn  of 
1509,  everything  had  been  arranged  as  ingeniously 
as  possible  to  hinder  cordial  cooperation.  To  the 
rivalry  between  the  two  governors  was  added  the 
dislike  felt  for  both  by  Diego  Columbus.  First, 
the  two  governors  wrangled  over  the  boundary- 
line  between  their  provinces,  until  La  Cosa  per- 
suaded them  to  agree  upon  the  Atrato  starting  of  tbe 
river.  Then  came  the  more  important  «»p®^"<*^ 
question  of  supplies.  To  ensure  a  steady  supply 
of  food,  the  island  of  Jamaica  was  to  be  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  Ojeda  and  Nicuesa ;  but  as  that 
was  an  invasion  of  the  rights  of  Diego  Columbus, 
he  would  not  consent  to  it.  So  they  started  with- 
out any  established  base  of  supply,  trusting  them- 
selves to  luck.  A  sudden  arrest  for  debt  detained 
Nicuesa,  so  that  Ojeda  got  off  about  a  week  be- 
fore him.  Before  reaching  the  gulf  of  Uraba,  at 
a  place  near  the  site  of  Cartagena,  the  rash  Ojeda. 


868  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

made  up  his  mind  to  go  ashore  and  catch  a  feir 
slaves  to  be  sent  over  to  Hispaniola  in  payment 
for  food.  Against  the  advice  of  the  veteran  La 
Cosa  he  insisted  upon  going,  with  about  seventy 
men,  and  La  Cosa  went  with  him  to  screen  him 
from  the  effects  of  such  hardihood,  for  he  had 
found  out  that  the  Indians  in  that  region  used 
poisoned  arrows.  A  few  drops  of  poison  some- 
times quite  neutralized  the  advantages  of  armour 
and  cross-bows  and  gunpowder.  La  Cosa  and 
Death  of  La  ^  ^®  othcr  Spaniards  save  two  were 
^**^  slain  ;  one  of  these  two  was  Ojedsl,  who 

was  picked  up  four  or  five  days  later  and  carried 
aboard  ship  just  in  time  to  save  him  from  death 
by  starvation.  Nicuesa  now  arrived  upon  the 
scene  with  his  ships,  and,  forgetting  past  quarrels, 
treated  his  unfortunate  rival  with  much  kindness 
and  courtesy.  After  he  had  passed  by,  Ojeda 
stopped  at  the  entrance  to  the  gulf  of  Uraba  and 
began  to  build  a  rude  town  there  which  he  called 
^  ,  San  Sebastian.     The  proceedings  were 

soon  checked  by  famine,  and  as  a  pirat- 
ical fellow  named  Talavera  happened  to  come 
along  in  a  ship  which  he  had  stolen,  Ojeda  con- 
cluded to  embark  with  him  and  hiury  over  to 
Hispaniola  in  quest  of  supplies  and  reinforce- 
ments. His  party  kept  their  ships,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  if  Ojeda  should  not  return  within  fifty 
days  they  might  break  up  the  expedition  and  go 
wherever  they  liked.  So  Ojeda  departed,  leaving 
in  temporary  command  an  Estremaduran  named 
Francisco  Fizarro,  of  whom  we  shall  have  more  to 
say. 


TBE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  369 

The  unfortunate  commander  never  returned. 
After  a  voyage  anytliing  but  agreeable  in  com- 
pany vith  Talavera'a  ruffians,  the  stolen  ship  was 
wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Cuba.  In  course  of  time 
Ojeda,  sadly  the  worse  for  wear,  got  n^jthoi 
back  to  San  Domingo,  but  long  before  ''^'^ 
that  time  his  party  had  been  scattered,  and  he  had 


no  means  of  making  a  fresh  start.     He  died  at 
San  Domingo  in  abject  misery,  in  1515. 

While  the  shipwrecked  Ojeda  was  starving  on 
the  coast  of  Cuba,  a  couple  of  ships,  with  horses, 
food,  and  ammunition,  started  from  San  Domingo 
to  go  to  the  relief  of  San  Sebastian.  The  com- 
mander was  a  lawyer,  the  Bachelor  Eii»ditiDBoi 
Martin  Fernandez  de  Enciso,  after-  ^""^ 
wards  distinguished  as   a  historian  and  geograr 


870  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

pher.^  He  was  a  kind  of  partner  in  Ojeda's  enter- 
prise, having  invested  some  money  in  it.  He  was 
in  many  respects  an  estimable  person,  but  hardly 
fitted  for  the  work  to  which  he  had  put  his  hand, 
for  he  was  made  of  red  tape,  without  a  particle  of 
tact  about  him.  Among  the  barrels  in  Enciso's 
ship  was  one  that  contained  neither  bread  nor 
gunpowder,  but  a  handsome  and  penniless  young 
cavalier  who  had  contrived  this  way  of  escaping 
Appeannce  from  his  crcditors.  This  was  Vasco 
of  Balboa.  Jfuficz  dc  Balboa,  who  in  spite  of  this 
imdignified  introduction  is  by  far  the  most  attrac- 
tive figure  among  the  Spanish  adventurers  of  that 
time.  After  the  vessel  had  got  well  out  to  sea 
Balboa  showed  himself,  much  to  the  disgust  of 
Enciso,  who  could  not  abide  such  irregular  pro- 
ceedings. He  scolded  Vasco  Nuiiez  roundly,  and 
was  with  some  difficulty  dissuaded  from  setting 
him  ashore  on  a  small  desert  island,  —  which  ap- 
parently would  not  have  been  in  the  eyes  of  our 
man  of  red  tape  an  irregular  proceeding  !  Arriv- 
ing upon  the  site  of  Cartagena,  Enciso  met  Pi- 
zarro,  with  the  haggard  remnant  of  Ojeda's  party 
in  a  small  brigantine.  What  business  had  these 
men  here  ?  thought  this  rigid  and  rigorous  Enciso  ; 
they  must  be  deserters  and  had  better  be  seized 
at  once  and  put  in  irons.  With  much  ado  they 
convinced  him  of  the  truth  of  their  story.  As 
the  fifty  days  had  expired  without  news  of  Ojeda, 
they  had  abandoned  the  enterprise.    But  now  they 

• 

^  His  valuable  work  Suma  de  Geogrq/Ca^  qitfi  trata  de  todas  lot 
partidas  y  provincias  del  mundoy  en  especial  de  las  Tndias,  was  pub- 
lished at  Seville  in  1519.  There  were  later  editions  in  1530  and 
1546.    It  18  now  excessively  rare. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU,  371 

^ere  ready  to   follow  Enciso,  and  all  thus   pro- 
ceeded amicably  together  to  the  gulf  of  Uraba. 
^After  some   mishaps  Balboa,  who  had   formerly 
l)een  on  that  coast  with  Bastidas  and  La  Cosa, 
^vised  the  party  to  choose  the  western  shore  of 
the  gulf  for  their  settlement,  inasmuch  as  the  In- 
dians on  that  side  did  not  use  poisoned  arrows. 
This  sound  advice  was  adopted,  and  the  building 
of  the  town  of  Santa  Maria  del  Darien  was  begun. 
Enciso's  overbearing  temper  soon  proved 
too  much  for  his  followers  and  they  re-  poaed  by  ua 
solved  to   depose  him,   but  could  not 
agree  upon  a  successor.     By  crossing  the   gulf 
ihey  had  entered  Nicuesa's   province,  and   some 
thought  that  he  ought  therefore  to  become  their 
commander,  while  some  favoured  Balboa,  and  a 
few  remained  loyal  to  Enciso.     It  was  at  length 
decided  to  elect  Nicuesa,  and  until  he  should  come 
Balboa  remained  the  leading  spirit  of  the  little 
colony. 

It  was  now  December,  1510.  Nicuesa's  story 
had  been  an  appalling  record  of  famine  and  mu- 
tiny. Out  of  more  than  700  men  who  had  left  His- 
paniola  with  him  thirteen  months  before, 

*  ,  ,  Awful  suffer- 

not  more  than  70  remained  alive  at  the  ingaofNicue^ 

and  hifl  party. 

little  blockhouse  which  they  had  built 
and  called  Nombre  de  Dios.  The  Spanish  adven- 
turers in  America  need  all  the  allowances  that 
ehariiy  can  make  for  them,  and  in  rehearsing  their 
deeds  one  is  sometimes  led  to  reflect  that  their 
prolonged  sufferings  in  the  wilderness  must  have 
tended  to  make  them  as  savage  as  wolves.^     One 

^  "  The  more  e^eiienoe  and  insight  I  obtain  into  human  na- 


872  THE   DISCOVERY  OE  AMEIUCA. 

sees  this  illustrated  in  the  melancholy  fate  of  poor 
Nieuesa.  That  kind-hearted  gentleman  bad  be- 
come maddened  by  hardship  until  his  harshness 
began  to  alarm  his  men.  His  friend  Cohuenares, 
bringing  food  from  Hispaniola  and  a  message  of 
invitation  from  the  men  at  Darien,  found  him,  ^^  of 
all  lyuynge  men  most  infortimate,  in  maner  dryed 
yppe  with  extreeme  hunger,  fylthye  and  horrible 
to  beholde,  with  onely  three  score  men  .  •  .  lefte 
alyve  of  seven  hundreth.  They  al  seemed  to  hym 
soo  miserable,  that  he  noo  less  lamented  theyr 
case  than  yf  he  had  founde  them  deade."  ^  As 
soon  as  they  had  recovered  strength  enough  to 
craeitiM»-  move  about,  they  started  in  two  caravels 
ouMlbyUM  for  Darien.  Nicuesa's  unwonted  harsh- 
meDofDwieii.  ^^^^  Continued,  and  he  was  heard   to 

utter  a  threat  of  confiscating  the  gold  which  the 
men  of  Darien  had  found  within  his  territoiy. 
This  foolish  speech  sealed  his  fate.  The  other 
caravel,  reaching  Darien  before  his  own,  warned 
the  party  there  against  him,  and  when  he  arrived 
they  would  not  let  him  come  ashore.  With  seven- 
teen comrades  left  who  would  not  desert  him,  the 
unfortimate  Nieuesa  put  out  to  sea  and  was  never 
heard  of  again. 

This  affair  left  Yasco  Nunez  in  undisputed  oom- 

tore,  the  more  convinced  do  I  become  that  the  greater  portion  of 
a  nuui  is  purely  animal.  Fully  and  regularly  fed,  he  is  a  being 
capable  of  being  coaxed  or  coerced  to  exertion  of  any  kind,  love 
and  fear  sway  him  easily,  he  is  not  averse  to  labour  however 
severe ;  but  when  starved  it  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  the  motto 
*  Cave  Canem,*  for  a  starving  lion  over  a  raw  morsel  of  beef  is 
not  so  ferocious  or  so  ready  to  take  offence/'  Stanley,  in  Dark- 
e$t  Africa^  voL  i.  p.  270. 

^  Ikcades  qfthe  Newt  Worlde,  dec.  iL  lib.  liL 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  873 

mand  at  Darien,  and  as  he  was  thus  the  most 
conspicuous  gainer  from  it,  there  was  an  opportu- 
nity for  his  enemies  to  cast  upon  him  the  blame 
for  the  cruel  treatment  of  Nicuesa.    On  ^  ,^    , ,,  ^ 

Balboa  left  in 

this  erave  charee,  however,  he  was  af-  undiaputod 

o  ^  o   '  '  command. 

terward  tried  and  acquitted  by  an  un- 
friendly tribunal,  and  it  seems  clear  that  without 
opposing  the  decision  not  to  receive  Nicuesa  as 
commander  he  tried  his  best  to  save  him  from 
harm.  But  his  conduct  toward  the  Bachelor  En- 
eiso  was  the  very  height  of  folly.  Doubtless  he 
found  that  martinet  unendurable,  but  what  could 
be  more  unwise  than  first  to  imprison  him  and 
then  to  set  him  free  on  condition  of  leaving  the 
colony  in  the  first  avaUable  ship?  The  angry 
Encii  went  home  to  Spain  and  complained^ 
court.  Vasco  Nufiez  indeed  tried  to  provide 
against  such  an  adverse  influence  by  sending  his 
friend  Zamudio  to  talk  with  King  Ferdinand ;  but 
the  trained  advocate  Enciso  proved  a  better  talker 
than  Zamudio. 

Balboa  forthwith  proceeded  to  explore  the  isth- 
mus. He  made  an  alliance  with  the  chief  Careta, 
who  gave  hun  his  daughter  in  marriage.  Then  he 
added  to  the  alliance  a  powerful  chief  named  Como- 
gre,  whose  town  he  visited  with  some  of  his  men. 
This,  it  will  be  observed,  was  in  1512,  before  any 
rumour  of  the  existence  of  Mexico  had  reached  the 
ears  of  the  Spaniards,  and  they  were  agreeably 
surprised  at  the  sight  of  the  house  in  which  Como- 
gre  received  them,  which  was  much  finer  than  any 
that  they  had  hitheit3  beheld,  and  seemed  to  indi- 
cate that  at  length  they  were  approaching  the  con- 


874  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMSRICA. 

fines  of  Asiatic  civilization.  It  was  150  paces  i  -rrr 
length  by  80  f  edt  in  breadth,  with  finely  wrongbL-  -  mt 
floors  and  ceiling,  and,  besides  granaries,  ceUs 
and  living  rooms,  contained  a  kind  of  chapel  whei 
the  bodies  of  deceased  members  of  the  clan  we] 
preserved  as  miunmies.^  The  chief  gave  the  Spa^E:. 
iards  a  large  quantity  of  gold  and  seventy  slave 
These  Indians  knew  nothing  of  gold  as  a  pure] 
ing  medium,  but  made  it  into  trinkets,  and  th^^_^ej 
were  sorely  mystified  at  seeing  the  Spaniards  me^^B^slt 
it  into  bars  or  ingots,  which  they  weighed  wi»"  »  "tii 
scales.     A  dispute,  or,  as  Eden  calls  it,  a  ^^  brai^^E^b- 

bling,"  arose  among  the  Spaniards  as  they  wc-l u^-Je 

weighing  and  dividing  this  gold.     Then  a  son  of 

Speech  of  Co-  Comogrc  got  up  and  told  the  visitor    p  th 

mogie'tton.       ^j^g^^  j{   ^^y    ^^   ^  ^^^^  ^^^    ^^   tt^fc^is 

yellow  stuff  as  to  quarrel  about  it  they  had  betl^^K^^J* 

go  to  a  country  where  they  could  get  more  <h=-    -- 

enough  for  all.     Over  across  the  sierras  there 

a  great  sea,  and  far  to  the  southward  on  the  sh< 

of  this  sea  there  was  a  land  where  gold  was 

plentiful  that  people  used  it  instead  of  pottery 

their  bowls  and  cups.     This  was  the  first 

and  undoubted  mention  of    the   countiy  of 

Incas.     Vasco  Nunez  sent  news  of  this  speech 

the   Spanish  court,  accompanied   by   the   kinj 

share  of  the  gold,  one  fifth  of  the  amount; 

imf  ortunately  the  vessel  was  wrecked  in  the  O 

bean  sea,  and  neither  message  nor  gold  found 

way  to  King  Ferdinand.     It  was  not  until 

next  spring  that  messengers  reached  the  Span! 

court,  and  then  it  was  learned  that  Enciso  had  t:;-^^^® 

1  Peter  Martyr,  De  Orbe  Novo,  Alcali,  1516,  dec.  ii.  lib.  m. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  375 

king's  ear,  and  legal  proceedings   against  Yasco 
Nunez  were  about  to  be  begun. 

Soon  afterward,  our  adventurer  received  from 
the  government  in  Hispaniola  the  appointment  of 
captain  -  general  over  Darien.  His  satisfaction, 
however,  was  sadly  clouded  by  the  news  from 
Spain,  and  he  determined  at  once  to  cross  the 
sierra,  in  the  hope  of  finding  the  great  sea  and 
thus  establishing  a  claim  to  favourable  treatment. 
There  was  no  use  in  waiting  for  reinforcements, 
for  the  same  ship  that  brought  fresh  troops  might 
bring  an  order  for  his  dismissal  and  arrest.  Early 
in  September,  1513,  accordingly,  Balboa  started 
across  the  isthmus  with  about  200  men  and  a  small 
pack  of  bloodhounds.  From  Careta's  territory  he 
entered  that  of  a  cacique  named  Quarequa,  who 
undertook  to  oppose  his  advance  through  that  dif- 
ficult country.  But  no  sooner  did  it  come  to  fight- 
ing than  the  Indians  fied  in  wild  terror  from 
enemies  who  wielded  thunder  and  lightning.  Cap- 
turing some  of  these  Indians  and  winning  their 
confidence  by  kind  treatment,  Balboa  used  them 
as  fifuides  throu&^h  the  mountains.     On  ^ 

^  DiscoveTyof 

the  25th  of  September,  from  one  of  the  ti>«  P»cifl« 

•      /-\  ♦  ocean. 

boldest  smnmits  in  Quarequa  s  country, 
Balboa  looked   down  upon   the  waste   of  waters 
which  was  afterwards   shown  to  be  the  greatest 
ocean  upon  the  globe.^ 

Four  more  days  of  arduous  toil  brought  the 
Spaniards  down  from  the  mountains  to  the  shore 
of   the  gulf   which,  because  they  reached   it  on 

^  Keats  in  his  beaatiful  poem  inadvertently  pnta  Cortes  in 
plaee  of  Balboa. 


876  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

Michaelmas,    they  named    San    MigueL      After 
launching  out  upon  this  rough  sea  in  a  small  flo- 
tilla of  canoes,  and  navicratinfi:  a  portion 
of  the  golden    of  it  at  the  imminent  nsk  of  penshinc: 

kingdom.  ,  ,  ,  *  ^ 

in  an  equinoctial  gale,  Yasoo  Ni^iez 
effected  a  landing  upon  its  northern  shore  in  the 
country  of  the  chieftain  Tumaco,  whom  he  first 
defeated  and  then  by  kind  treatment  won  his 
friendship.  Tumaco  confirmed  the  story  of  a  rich 
empire  far  to  the  south,  and  produced  a  clay  figure 
of  a  llama  in  illustration  of  some  of  his  state- 
ments. 

It  was  now  high  time  to  return  to  I^arien  with 
the  tidings  of  what  had  been  accomplished.  Vasco 
Nuiiez  arrived  there  early  in  January,  1514,  but  too 
late  for  his  achievement  to  effect  such  a  result  as 
he  had  hoped  for.  He  might  not  unreasonably 
have  expected  to  be  confirmed  in  his  goyemorship 
of  the  isthmus.  But  stories  of  the  golden  kingdom 
Affairs  In  mentioned  by  Comogre's  son  had  already 
^P*^"-  wrought  their  effect  in  Spain.    The  vic- 

tories of  the  French  in  Italy  under  the  brilliant 
Gaston  de  Foix  had  alarmed  Eang  Ferdinand ;  an 
army  for  Italy  had  been  collected  and  the  command 
given  to  Gonsalvo  de  Cordova.  But  before  this 
expedition  started  news  came  of  the  retreat  of  the 
French,  and  the  king  ordered  Gonsalvo  to  disband 
his  men.^  Many  of  the  gay  cavaliers  who  had 
enlisted  with  fiery  enthusiasm  under  the  Great 
Captain  were  thus  thrown  out  of  occupation,  to 
their  intense  disgust ;  when  all  at  once  there  came 

^  Chronica  del  Gran  Capitan^  lib.  iiL  cap.  7 ;  Mariana,  HutortM 
de  Eqnuia,  lib.  ttt.  cap.  14. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  877 

to  Spain  the  report  of  an  unknown  sea  beyond 
the  Terra  Firma,  and  of  a  kingdom  abounding 
in  wealth.  There  ensued  one  of  the  bursts  of  ex- 
citement so  common  in  that  age  of  marvels,  and 
which  the  reading  of  Don  Quixote  enables  one  to 
appreciate.  On  the  word  of  an  unknown  Indian 
youth,  before  it  had  been  even  partially  confirmed 
by  Balboa's  discovery  of  the  sea,  these  cavaliers 
were  at  once  ready  to  cross  the  Atlantic.  If  they 
were  not  to  go  to  Italy  they  would  seek  adventures 
in  the  Indies.  A  fleet  was  accordingly  fitted  out, 
with  accommodations  for  1,200  men,  but  at  least 
1,500  contrived  to  embark.  The  admiral  of  the 
fleet  and  new  governor  of  Terra  Firma  pedrarfas 
was  a  man  over  seventy  years  of  age,  ^*^"*- 
named  Pedrarias  Davila,  one  of  those  two-legged 
tigers  of  whom  Spain  had  so  many  at  that  time. 
He  was  a  favourite  at  court,  and  his  wife  was  a 
niece  of  that  Marchioness  of  Moya  who  had  been 
the  friend  of  Queen  Isabella  and  of  Coliunbus. 
For  the  next  sixteen  years  Pedrarias  was  a  leading 
figure  in  the  Indies,  and  when  he  died  the  histo- 
rian Oviedo,  in  a  passage  of  surpassing  quaint- 
ness,  tried  to  compute  how  many  souls  of  his  mur- 
dered victims  he  would  be  called  upon  to  confront 
at  the  Day  of  Judgment.^  Oviedo  was  inclined 
to  put  the  figure  at  2,000,000.  If  we  were  to 
strike  off  a  couple  of  ciphers,  we  should  have  a 
figure  quite  within  the  limits  of  credibility,  and 

^  Oviedo,  Historia  de  las  Indicu^  xxiz.  34.  This  historian 
cherished  a  personal  g^dge  against  Pedrarias ;  hut  all  the  other 
hest  authorities  — -  Peter  Martyr,  Las  Casas,  Andagoya,  Benzoni, 
Remesal  —  are  in  tahstantial  agreement  as  to  his  atrocious  char- 
acter. 


^-.T"^  THE  DISCOVERY  0?'  AMERICA. 

sut'ticieiitly  terrible.  It  is  hardly  necessar}'  to  add 
that  this  green-eyed,  pitiless,  perfidious  old  wretch 
was  an  especial  pet  of  Bishop  Fonseca. 

The  arrival  of  this  large  force  in  Darien  was 
the  beginning  of  a  self-sustaining  colon3^  The 
collection  of  i*ude  cabins  called  Santa  Maria  del 
Darien  was  made  a  ^^  cathedral  city,"  and  Juan  de 
Quevedo  was  appointed  bishop.  Gonsalvo  Her- 
nandez de  Oviedo,  afterwards  famous  as  a  histo- 
rian, came  out  as  inspector-general  of  the  new  col- 
ony. Caspar  de  Espinosa  was  chief  judge,  and 
Enciso  returned  to  the  scene  as  chief  constable. 
His  first  business  was  to  arrest  Yasco  Nunez,  who 
was  tried  on  various  charges  before  Espinosa,  but 
was  presently  acquitted  and  set  free.  The  news 
of  his  discovery  and  the  arguments  of  admiring 
friends  had  begun  to  win  favour  for  him  at  the 
Spanish  court.  For  more  than  two  years  Vasco 
je*iou8y  be-  Nuficz  coutrivcd  to  avoid  a  serious  quar- 
riarMid  rIT  rel  witb  the  governor,  whose  jealousy  of 
^*^  him  was  intense,  and  made  aU  the  more 

so  by  the  comparisons  which  men  could  not  help 
drawing  between  the  two.  The  policy  of  Pedrarias 
toward  the  Indian  tribes  was  the  ordinary  one  of 
murder  and  plunder ;  in  a  few  instances  he  chose 
incompetent  lieutenants  who  were,  badly  defeated 
by  the  Indians  ;  once  he  was  defeated  in  person ; 
and  such  residts  could  not  but  be  contrasted  with 
those  which  had  attended  the  more  humane,  hon- 
est, and  sagacious  management  of  Balboa.  In 
October,  1515,  the  latter  wrote  to  the  king,  com* 
plaining  of  the  govemor^s  cruel  conduct  and  its 
effect  in  needlessly  alienating  the  Indians ;  and  it  is 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU,  379 

impossible  to  read  that  letter  to-day  ^  and  not  feel 
that  Yasco  NuSiez,  with  all  his  faults,  was  a  wise 
and  true-hearted  man,  with  ample  warrant  for 
every  word  that  he  said.  But  the  king  could  not 
very  well  read  such  a  letter  without  some  echoes 
of  it  finding  their  way  back  to  the  New  World. 
Matters  grew  so  stormy  that  Juan  de  Quevedo, 
the  Bishop  of  Darien,  who  was  friendly  to  Balboa, 
thought  it  necessary  to  negotiate  a  kind  of  treaty 
between  him  and  the  governor.  Balboa  was  to 
be  sent,  with  a  proper  force,  to  visit  the  golden 
kingdom  at  the  South,  and  the  bishop  proposed  to 
cement  the  alliance  by  a  betrothal  between  Balboa 
and  the  daughter  of  Pedrarias.  Doubtless  the 
worthy  clergyman,  like  most  white  men  of  his 
time,  thought  that  an  Indian  wife  counted  for  no- 
thing.  Yasco  Nunez  did  not  think  so.  He  was 
devotedly  fond  of  the  Indian  girl  and  she  of  him, 
but  as  the  other  young  lady  was  in  Spain  and  her 
father  in  no  great  haste  about  the  matter,  Yasco 
NuSez  assented  to  this  article  in  the    . 

rm         1  rt»  A     1  1       -^^  expedition 

treaty.   Then  he  went  on  to  Ada,  a  newly  prepared  to  go 

•^  ,        ,  •'     in  search  of 

founded  port  on  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  «?« ^o^^en 

,  *  ,  kingdom. 

isthmus,  to  engage  in  the  herculean  task 
of  taking  his  ships  piecemeal  across  the  sierra  to 
the  point  where  they  were  to  be  put  together  and 
launched  on  the  Pacific.^    After  many  months  of 

^  Balboa,  Carta  dtrigida  al  Retf^  16  Octubre,  1515,  in  Nayarrete, 
CoUccion  de  viagesj  iii.  375. 

^  Bishop  Quevedo  afterward  reported  to  the  Emperor  Charles 
V.  that  '*  more  than  500  Indians ''  perished  under  the  hardships 
of  this  terrible  undertaking ;  but  Qnevedo's  secretary  told  Las 
Casas  that  the  real  number  of  deaths  was  not  less  than  2,000,  a 
figure  which  the  bishop  refrained  from  stating,  through  fear  of 


..-■..-     /.      .MKUICA. 

•'    :..  i<';jt.au  ki'fU  to  plough 

[      ■  :i...i,     Mint:  wadv  to  weigh 

.. :  .      ^v   luuiy  w  <.-iubark.     No- 

-..:       .,:.:[■•  inm  aud  piU'li,  aiid 

. ;.-  -..■  i.i'iug  aviiit  ruin  ui>oa 

..  ...i.tii  tliat  the  king  had 

:.  1.:;,-   :iml  appointed    a    new 

.     .:,  -hma.     The  rumour  iru 

.iu:ituiv,  for  the  oomidaiats 

,,    •\ri>i4tht    some   effect  at 

-       i^U'iit  of  Lope  de  Soaa  was 

::l'  next  year.     Thia  prema- 

.r  vuiisequencGS.     Now  that 

.  -   :ai-,  Balboa  was  more  dk- 

..  '   :-  ueiug  used  to  tlic  Ming 

.  ■  the  fire ;  a  new  governor 

.     Lvnut  hia  departure,  aud  if 

..     .\'ti  and  pit«.-h  it  would  be 

■..     But  aini-e  these  artiiles 

I  [he  small  party  sent  back 

-.  ".nue  discretion  aud  begin  by 

.<  ii  or  how  little  truth  there 

.toui-s.     If  the  new  governor 

..   >vL'liap3  it  might  be  liest  to 

,  1.  -luichly  as  possible  ;  but  if 

•.  il  be  in  power,  then  it  were 

.uid  ask  for  the  ii-ou  aud  pitch. 

...^iim.  Sea  Las  Cn^as,  Ili^oria  dt  la* 
-_.iw  tiiue,  ufB  l.aa  Ciuas,  Ilulbua  «ai 
'  ovuttvvr  tlie  liardvat  work  «aa  to  U 
'■>  >%  bold  witli  hia  own  Lamia  aud  cver^ 


HIE  rovor/'>T  OF  VEur.  381 

Thus  Ball^oa  talked  with  two  friends  one  summer 
evening  on  the  rude  veranda  of  a  cabin  which  he 
had  used  for  headquarters  while  the  ar-  ^  ^^^  ^^, 
duous  shipbuilding  had  been  going  on.  ^•"»**oo- 
So  far  as  Pedrarias  was  concerned,  there  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  a  word  of  treason  in  the  con- 
versation, but  while  they  were  talking  in  an  under- 
tone it  began  to  rain,  and  a  sentinel,  pacing  near 
headquarters,  came  up  under  the  eaves  for  shelter, 
and  ILstened.     From  the  fragments  which  reached 
his  ears  he  concluded  that  Balboa  was  intending 
to  throw  off  his  allegiance  to  Pedrarias  and  set  up 
a  new  government  for  himself ;  and  so,  translating 
his  crude  inferences  into  facts,  this  fellow  con- 
trived to  send  information  to  La  Puente,  the  treas- 
urer at  Acla,  a  man  with  whom  Yasco  Nunez  had 
once  had  a  little  dispute  about  some  money. 

Now  it  happened  that  a  man  named  Andres 
Garavito,^  having  become  enamoured  of  Balboa's 
Indian  wife,  had  made  overtures  which  were  indig- 
nantly repulsed  by  the  woman,  and  called  forth 
stem  words  of  warning  from  Vasco  Nuiiez.  The 
wretched  Garavito  thereupon  set  out  to  compass 
Balboa's  death.  Having  been  sent  on  some  busi- 
ness to  Acla,  he  told  Pedrarias  that  Balboa  never 
meant  to  marry  his  daughter,  inasmuch  as  he 
eared  for  no  one  but  the  Indian  woman ;  more- 
over he  was  now  about  to  go  off  in  his  ships  to  the 

^  The  name  is  often  -written  Garabito.    The  habitnal  confusion 

of  these  two  labials  in  the  Spanish  language  long  ago  called  forth 

from  Jnlins  Scaliger  the  epigram :  — 

Hand  temere  antiqaas  Vaaconla  voces 
Coi  nihil  est  aliad  vivere  quam  bibere. 

J)e  Cauiu  LingwB  LatmaSf  i.  li. 


882  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

golden  kingdom  and  gain  wealth  in  his  own  behoof 
oanvito*t  ^^^  whlch  to  withstand  and  ruin  Pe- 
*'**°***'^'  drarias.  While  the  old  man  was  curs- 
ing and  raving  over  this  story,  the  party  coming 
for  iron  and  pitch  halted  on  the  edge  of  the  forest, 
and  sent  one  of  their  nimiber  into  the  town  after 
nightfall  to  make  inquiries.  It  was  this  man's 
luck  to  be  arrested  as  a  spy,  but  he  sent  word  to 
his  comrades,  and  they,  coming  into  town,  protested 
their  innocence  so  strongly  and  stated  the  true 
object  of  their  visit  so  clearly  that  the  angry  gov- 
ernor was  more  than  half  convinced,  when  all  at 
once  the  treasurer  La  Puente  came  to  see  him 
and  told  what  he  had  heard  from  the  sentinel. 
This  sealed  the  fate  of  Vasco  Nunez.  The  gov- 
ernor sent  him  a  crafty  letter,  couched  in  terms  of 
friendship,  and  asking  him  to  return  to  Acla  be- 
fore sailing,  as  there  were  business  matters  in 
which  he  needed  advice.  The  unsuspecting  Bal- 
boa set  forth  at  once  to  recross  the  sierra.  We 
are  told  that  his  horoscope  had  once  been  taken 
by  a  Venetian  astrologer,  who  said  that  if  he  were 
ever  to  behold  a  certain  planet  in  a  certain  quarter 
of  the  heavens  it  woidd  mean  that  he  was  in  sore 
peril,  but  if  he  should  escape  that  danger  he 
would  become  the  greatest  lord  in  all  the  Indies. 
And  there  is  a  legend  that  the  star  now  appeared 
one  evening  to  Vasco  Nunez,  whereupon  he  told 
his  attendants  about  the  prophecy  and  mocked  at 
it.  But  as  he  drew  near  to  Aela  there  came  out  a 
company  of  soldiers  to  arrest  him,  and  the  captain 
of  this  company  was  Francisco  Pizarro,  one  of  his 
old  comrades  who  had  served  under  him  ever  since 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU,  883 

the  time  when  the  lawyer  Enciso  was  deposed 
from  command.  "  How  is  this,  Francisco  Pizar- 
ro  ?  "  said  Balboa,  ^^  it  is  not  thus  that  thoa  wert 
wont  to  come  forth  to  meet  me."  But  he  offered 
no  resistance,  and  when  put  upon  his  trial  he  sim- 
ply asked  why,  if  he  had  really  been 

J*x    x:  X-.  J      J         -i.'  X.       Balboa  pot  to 

meditating  treason  and  desertion,  he  death  by  Pe- 
should  have  come  back  so  promptly 
when  called.  A  guilty  man  would  have  staid 
away.  But  it  was  no  use  talking.^  The  governor 
had  made  up  his  mind,  and  before  the  sun  went 
down  Vasco  Nu2ez  and  four  of  his  friends  had 
been  tried,  condemned,  and  beheaded.^ 

Thus  perished  in  the  forty-second  year  of  his 
age  the  man  who  but  for  that  trifle  of  iron  and 
pitch  would  probably  have  been  the  conqueror  of 
Pern.     It  was  a  pity  that  such  work  should  not 

^  ^  Valboa  con  gpiaramento  neg6,  dicendo,  che  inqnanto  toccana 
alia  informatioiie  che  contra  ltd  s^era  fatta  di  sollenargli  la  gente 
che  Vera  h  torto,  e  falsamente  accusato,  e  che  considerasse  hene 
qoeUo  che  facena,  e  se  lui  havease  tal  cosa  tentata,  non  saria 
Tennto  alia  presentia  sna,  e  similmente  del  resto,  si  difese  il 
m^lio  che  pnote  ;  ma  dove  reg^ano  le  f orze,  poco  gioua  defen- 
ders! con  la  ragione.**  Benzoni,  Historia  del  Hondo  NuovOy  L  51, 
Venice,  1572. 

*  In  the  accounts  of  the  Garavito  treachery  as  given  hy  Oviedo 
and  Herrera,  there  is  some  confusion.  Oviedo  represents  Garavito 
as  having  heen  arrested  by  Pedrarias  and  telling  his  base  story 
in  order  to  tnm  the  governor's  -wrath  away  from  himself.  But  as 
1^  Arthur  Helps  {Spanish  Conquest,  vol.  i.  p.  432)  has  pointed  out, 
the  discrepancy  seems  to  have  arisen  from  confounding  Andres 
Garavito  with  his  brother  Francisco,  who  was  one  of  the  company 
sent  for  the  iron  and  pitch  and  was  faithful  to  Vasco  Nufiez.  The 
man  who  was  arrested  as  a  spy  seems  to  have  been  Luis  Botello, 
one  of  the  four  friends  who  were  executed  with  Vasco  NuAez. 
See  Pasciud  de  Andagoya,  Relacionf  in  Kavarrete,  Coleccion  de 
viages  y  desatbrimientotf  iiL  405. 


884  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

nave  fallen  into  his  hands,  for  when  at  length  it 
was  done,  it  was  by  men  far  inferior  to  him  in 
character  and  calibre.  One  cannot  but  wish  that 
he  might  have  gone  on  his  way  like  Cortes,  and 
worked  out  the  rest  of  his  contemplated  career  in 
accordance  with  the  genius  that  was  in  him.  That 
bright  attractive  figure  and  its  sad  fate  can  never 
fail  to  arrest  the  attention  and  detain  the  steps  of 
the  historian  as  he  passes  by.  Quite  possibly  the 
romantic  character  of  the  story  may  have  thrown 
something  of  a  glamour  about  the  person  of  the 
victim,  so  that  uncondciously  we  tend  to  emphasize 
his  merits  while  we  touch  lightly  upon  his  faults. 
But  after  all,  tliis  effect  is  no  more  than  that  which 
his  personality  wrought  upon  the  minds  of  con- 
temporary witnesses,  who  were  unanimous  in  their 
expressions  of  esteem  for  Balboa  and  of  condem« 
nation  for  the  manner  of  his  taking  off. 

Seven  yeara  passed  before  the  work  of  discover- 
ing the  golden  kingdom  was  again  seriously  taken 
up.  It  was  work  of  almost  insuperable  difficulty 
in  the  absence  of  a  base  of  operations  upon  the 
Pacific  coast  of  the  isthmus ;  and,  as  we  shall  see, 
men's  attention  was  distracted  by  the  question  as 
,  ,  _  ,  to  the  Molucca  islands.  During  this 
interval  of  seven  years  the  conquest  of 
Mexico  was  begim  and  completed,  so  far  as  the 
towns  once  tributary  to  the  Aztec  Confederacy 
were  concerned.  By  1524  the  time  had  arrived 
when  the  laurels  of  Cortes  would  not  allow  other 
knights-en*ant  to  sleep,  and  then  Balboa's  enter- 
prise was  taken  up  by  his  old  comrade  Francisco 
Pizarro. 


THE  coy  QUEST  OF  PERU,  385 

This  man,  like  Cortes  and  Balboa,  was  a  native 
of  the  province  of  Estremadura.     He  was  an  ille- 
^tiinate  son  of  Gonzalo  Pizarro,  an  officer  of  good 
family,  who  had  served  in  Italy  under  the  Great 
Oaptain.     As  the  mother  of  Cortes  was  a  Pizarro, 
it  Kas  been  supposed  that  there  was  relationship  be- 
tween the  two  families.     Francisco  Pizarro,  whose 
mother  was  a  yoimg  woman  of  humble  praucisco 
station,  was  bom   somewhere  between  ^"*^- 
1470  and   1478.     Unlike  Cortes,  who  had  some 
scant  allowance  of  university  education,  Pizarro 
had  no  schooling  at  all,  and  never  learned  to  write 
his  own  name.     His  occupation  in  youth  seems  to 
have  been  that  of  a  swineherd,  though  he  may, 
according  to  one  doubtfid  tradition,  have  accom- 
panied his   father  in   one   or  more   Italian  cam- 
paigns.     His  first  distinct  appearance  in  history 
was  in  Ojeda's  expedition  in  1509,  when  he  was 
left   in   command  of   the  starving   party  at  San 
Sebastian,  to  await   the  arrival  of   the   succours 
brought  by  Enciso.     He  served  under  Balboa  for 
several  years,  was  with  that  commander  when  he 
first  saw  the  great  South  Sea,  and  happened  —  as 
we  have   seen  —  to  be   the   officer  sent  out  by 
Pediarias  to  arrest  him. 

In  1515,  two  years  before  Balboa's  fall,  Pizarro 
took  part  in  an  expedition  imder  Gaspar  de  Mo- 
rales, sent  by  Pedrarias  to  explore  the  coasts  of 
the  gulf  of  San  MigueL  The  expedition,  as  us- 
ual, was  characterized  by  wonderful  endurance  of 
hardship  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards  and  by 
fiendish  cruelty  toward  the  Indians.  They  in- 
vaded the  territory  of  a  warlike  chief  named  Biru, 


886  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

on  the  southern  shore  of  the  gulf,  and  met  with  i 

such  a  hot  reception  that,  although  victorious,  they  "^ 

did  not  care  to  risk  a  second  fight,  but  retreated  J 

to  the   isthmus.     It  was   some  years  before  the  € 

Spaniards  got  so  far  south  again,  and  when  they  ^ 

Origin  of  the    ^^  occasiou  to  rcf  cr  to  the  un visited  J 

n«ne«PT«."  territory  beyond  the  gulf  of  San  Miguel  J 

they  fell  into  a  habit  of  speaking  of  it  as  the  Biru  i 

or  Peru  country.     The   golden   kingdom,  about  « 

which  there  had  been  so  much  talk,  was  said  to  < 

be  somewhere  upon  that  coast,  and  in  such  wise  < 

it  seems  to  have  received  its  modem  name.^    Not  ^ 

long  after  Balboa's  death  Pedrarias  learned  that  ^ 

Lope  de  Sosa  had  at  length  been  appointed  gov-  ^ 

emor  in  his  place.     It  was  unwelcome  news.     The  ^ 

old  man  had  good  reason  to  fear  the  result  of  an  •> 

examination  into  his  conduct.     It  might  be  held  J 

Lope  de  Sosa    ^^*  ^  cxccuting  Balboa  without  allow-  — 

wpSiSSe***     ^^?  ^^  appeal  to  the  crown  he  had  ex-  - 

PednriM.        cccdcd  his  powcrs,  and  the  Spanish  court  • 

sometimes  showed  itself  quite  jealous  of  such  en-  ^ 

croachments  upon  its  royal  prerogative  of  revision  -* 

and  pardon.     There  were,  moreover,  numerous  in-  — 

stances  of  judicial  robbery  and  murder  that  could  -^ 

easily  be  brought  home  to  their  perpetrator.     Ao-  — 

cordingly  Pedrarias   thought  it  wise   to  put  the  ^ 

mountains  bet\i'een  himself  and  the  Atlantic  coast,  ^> 

so  that  in  ease  of  necessity  he  might  do  just  what  *^ 
he  had  beheaded  Vasco  Nufiez  for  doing,  —  quit 
the   dangerous   neighbourhood  and  set  up   some- 
where for  himself. 

*  See  Andagoya's  Xarratice^  translated  by  Markham,  London 
ld(i5,  p.  42 ;  also  Winsor,  Narr,  and  CriL  HiU.y  ii.  505. 


-J 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  887 

This  prudent  resolve  led  to  the  founding  of 
Panama  by  Pedrarias  in  August,  1519.  Later  in 
the  same  year  the  opposite  port  of  Nombre  de 
Dios  was  founded,  and  a  rude  road  through  the 
wilderness,  connecting  these  two  places,  was  begun. 
When  Lope  de  Sosa  arrived  at  Darien 

•      "^M  ^rn/^         •  -i     rt/\/\  -r*    i         •         Sudden  death 

m  May,  1620,  with  oOO  men,  I'edranas  of  Lope  de 

Soaa. 

happened  to  be  on  the  spot,  but  was 
favoured  with  one  of  those  inscrutable  providences 
that  are  so  apt  to  come  to  the  rescue  of  such 
creatures.  Before  setting  foot  on  shore  the  new 
governor  was  suddenly  taken  sick  and  died  in  his 
cabin.  This  left  Pedrarias  in  office.  The  newly- 
arrived  alcalde^  before  whom  his  examination  was 
to  take  place,  published  notices  and  summons  in 
due  form  for  thirty  days ;  but  no  man  was  hardy 
enough  to  enter  complaint  against  him  so  long  as 
he  still  remained  invested  with  the  insignia  of 
power.  The  crafty  old  governor  could  thus  look 
on  smiling  while  a  certificate  that  no  one  accused 
him  was  despatched  on  its  way  to  Spain.  Then 
he  retired  to  Panama,  which  forthwith  became  the 
base  for  operations  along  the  Pacific  coast. 

This  stroke  of  fortune  gave  Pedrarias  a  new 
lease  of  imdisputed  power  for  nearly  seven  years. 
Meanwhile,  as  the  judge  Espinosa  was  involved 
along  with  him  in  the  risk  attendant 
upon  the  case  of  Balboa,  he  had  sent  voyage  in  Bai- 
that  pearl* of  magistrates  to  take  com- 
mand of  Balboa's  little  fleet  and  therein  seek 
safety  in  a  fresh  voyage  of  discovery.  As  Magel- 
lan's voyage  had  not  yet  been  made  and  the  exist- 
ence  of   a  broad   ocean  south  and  west  of   the 


388  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

isthmus  of  Darien  was  still  unknown,^  the  Span- 
iards upon  the  isthmus  still  supposed  themselves 
to  be  either  in  eastern  Asia  or  at  no  great  distance 
from  that  continent ;  and  accordingly  Espinosa,  in- 
stead of  sailing  southward  in  search  of  the  golden 
kingdom,  turned  his  prows  westward,  apparently 
in  the  hope  of  settling  the  vexed  question  as  to 
the  Spice  Islands.  This  woidd  have  required  a 
voyage  of  nearly  11,000  English  miles.  After  ac- 
complishing some  500  miles,  as  far  as  Cape  Blanco, 
in  what  is  now  the  state  of  Costa  Rica,  Espinosa 
returned  to  the  isthmus  late  in  1519. 

Just  at  that  time  the  controversy  over  the  Mo- 
luccas was  occupying  a  foremost  place  in  the  pub- 
lic attention.  It  was  on  the  10th  of  August,  1519, 
that  Magellan  started  on  his  epoch-making  voyage. 
Giioonzaiei  Earlier  in  that  year  one  of  Balboa's 
DAviia.  pilots,  Andres  NiSo,  was  at  the  Spanish 

court,  urging  that  the  ships  of  his  late  commander 
might  be  sent  to  find  the  Spice  Islands.  On  the 
18th  of  June  a  royal  order  was  issued,  authoriz- 
ing such  an  expedition  and  entrusting  the  com- 
mand of  it  to  Gil  Gonzalez  Davila,  a  man  of  high 
reputation  for  ability  and  integrity. 

How  fortunate  it  was  for  Magellan  that  his 
theory  of  the  situation  led  him  far  away  to  the 
southward,  subject  indeed  to  trials  as  hard  as  ever 
man  encountered,  but  safe  from  the  wretched  in- 
trigues and  savage  conflicts  of  authority  that 
were  raging  in  Central  America !  Had  he  chosen 
the  route  of  Gil  Gonzalez  he  would  have  begun 

1  It  must  be  remembered  that  Balboa  could  not  see  across  the 
ocean. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  389 

by  encountering  obstacles  more  vexatious,  if  not 
more  insuperable,  than  those  of  the  lonely  and  bar- 
ren sea.     When  Gil  Gonzalez  arrived  at  Acla  in 
the  spring  of  1520  and  demanded  the  ships  that 
had  been  Balboa's,  Pedrarias  refused  to  give  them 
up.     The  death  of  Lope  de  Sosa  confirmed  the 
old  man  in  this  contumacy ;  so  that  nothing  was 
left  for  Gil  Gonzalez  but  to  build  and  equip  ships 
for  himself.     A  flotilla,  constructed  with  incredi- 
ble toil,  was  destroyed  by  worms   and  weather. 
The  dauntless  Gil  Gonzalez  built  a  second,  con- 
sisting of  four  small  vessels,  and  early  in  1522 
he  set  sail  for  the  coveted  Moluccas.     After  eigh- 
teen months  he  returned  to  Panama,  loaded  with 
gold,  after  having  discovered  the  coast  of  Nicara- 
gua as  far  as  the  bay  of  Fonseca.     As  he  crossed 
the  isthmus,  Pedrarias,  in  a  frenzy  of  greed,  sent 
officers   to   arrest  him,  but  he   eluded  Tronbiesof 
them    and  got    safely  to    Hispaniola.  ^^^Gon^ie.. 
There  he  was  authorized  to  return  and  take  pos- 
session of  Nicaragua.     This  time  he  approached  it 
from  the  north  by  way  of  the  Honduras  coast,  in 
order  to  avoid  the  isthmus  and  its  dangerous  gov- 
ernor.    But  among  the  vices  of  Pedrarias  listless- 
ness  and  sloth  were  not  included.     He  laid  claim 
to  Nicaragua  by  reason  of  the   prior  voyage  of 
Espinosa,  and  had  already  despatched  Francisco 
Hernandez  de  Cordova,^  with  a  considerable  force, 
to  occupy  that  coimtry.     Cordova's  second  in  com- 

^  Hd  most  not  be  confounded  with  his  namesake  Francisco 
Hernandez  de  Cdrdova,  the  discoverer  of  Yucatan,  mentioned 
aboTe,  p.  240.  The  latter,  it  wiU  be  remembered,  died  of  his 
womids  on  returning  from  his  iU-starred  yoyage  in  1517. 


390  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

mand  was  Fernando  de  Soto,  a  young  man  wlioin 
we  shall  meet  again  more  than  once  in  the  course 
of  our  story.  Gil  Gonzalez,  marching  down  from 
the  north,  encountered  Soto  and  defeated  him,  but 
was  afterwards  obliged  to  retire  before  Cordova's 
superior  force.  Retreating  into  Honduras,  Gil 
Gonzalez  was  captured  by  Cristoval  de  Olid,  whom 
Cortes  had  sent  from  Mexico  to  occupy  that  coun- 
try. A  wild  scramble  ensued,  —  every  man  for 
himself  and  the  devil  take  the  hindmost.  Cor- 
dova threw  off  his  allegiance  to  Pedrarias,  but  in 
an  incredibly  short  time  that  alert  octogenarian 
had  come  to  Nicaragua  and  the  severed  head  of 
the  insubordinate  lieutenant,  thrust  aloft  upon  a 
pole,  was  baking  in  the  sun.  Olid  threw  off  his 
allegiance  to  Cortes,  and  was  presently  assassi- 
nated, probably  with  the  complicity  of  Gil  Gron- 
zalez,  who  forthwith  tried  to  come  to  an  imder- 
standing  with  the  conqueror  of  Mexico  as  to  the 
boundary  between  their  respective  prov- 
inces. At  this  juncture  Gil  Gx>nzale2 
was  seized  by  some  of  Olid's  friends  and  sent  to 
Spain  to  be  tried  for  murder.  Arriving  at  Seville 
in  1526,  the  strength  of  this  much-enduring  man 
suddenly  gave  way,  and  ho  died  of  hardship  and 
grief. 

The  voyage  of  Magellan,  revealing  the  breadth 
of  the  ocean  between  America  and  Asia,  destroyed 
the  illusion  as  to  the  nearness  of  the  Moluccas ;  and 
Att«ntion  *^®  discovery  of  Nicaragua  convinced 
totSj*iS*^  the  Spaniards  on  the  isthmus  of  Darien 
"-•"-o-'  that  there  was  no  use  in  sending  expe- 
ditions  to  the  westward,  inasmuch  as  the  way  waa 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU,  391 

closed  and  the  ground  preoccupied  by  the  con- 
querors  of  Mexico.  Their  attention  was  thus 
turned  decisively  to  the  southward,  whence  fresh 
immours  of  the  wealth  of  the  Incas  had  lately 
reached  their  ears.  In  1522  Pascual  de  Anda- 
goya  crossed  the  gulf  of  San  Miguel  and  gathered 
much  information  concerning  the  golden  kingdom. 
-A.  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  southward  was  pro- 
jected, and  as  Andagoya  was  completely  disabled 
l>y  an  attack  of  acute  rheumatism,  Pizarro  formed 
a  partnership  with  a  couple  of  his  friends,  Alma- 
gro  and  Luque,  and  Pedrarias  entrusted  to  them 
the  enterprise.  Diego  Almagro,  a  man  of  un- 
known parentage,  was  probably  not  less  than  fifty 
years  old.  Of  fiery  but  generous  disposition,  he 
had  the  gift  of  attaching  men  to  his  fortimes,  but 
there  is  little  to  be  said  in  praise  of  his  intelli- 
gence or  his  character.  As  compared  with  Cortes 
and  Balboa,  or  with  the  humane  and  virtuous 
Andagoya,  both  Pizarro  and  Almagro  were  men 
of  low  type.  The  third  partner,  Fernando  de 
liuque,  a  clergyman,  at  Panama,  was  associated  in 
the  enterprise  as  a  kind  of  financial  agent,  con- 
tributing funds  on  his  own  account  and  also  on 
that  of  the  judge  Espinosa. 

The  distance  to  the  land  of  the  Incas  was  much 
greater  than  had  been  supposed,  and  the  first  ex- 
pedition, which  started  in  1524,  returned  in  a  very 
dilapidated  state,  having  proceeded  as 
far  as  the  mouth  of  the  river  San  Juan,  A^aJ^o^art 
scarcely  one  third  of  the  way  to  Tum-  the^den 
bez.   On  the  second  expedition,  in  1526,         ^°^ 
Pizarro  landed  most  of  his  men  at  the  San  Juan, 


892  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

while  he  sent  his  pilot  Bartholomew  Ruiz  forward 
in  one  of  the  two  ships',  and  Almagro  in  the  other 
went  back  to  Panama  for  reinforcements  and  pro- 
visions. Ruiz,  after  crossing  the  equator^  and 
coming  within  sight  of  the  snow-clad  summit  of 
Chimborazo,  returned  to  Pizarro  with  some  na- 
tive Peruvians  whom  he  had  captured  on  a  sailing- 
raft.  The  story  of  the  grandeur  of  the  Inca  king- 
dom was  confirmed  afresh  by  these  men. 

These  things  were  going  on  while  Pedrarias 
was  wielding  his  headsman's  axe  in  Nicaragua. 
D^^^  About  this  time  he  was  really  deposed 
^^'^^''^  from  his  government  at  Panama,  but 
by  dint  of  skilful  chicanery  he  succeeded  in  keep- 
ing possession  of  Nicaragua  for  four  years  more, 
committing  cruelties  worthy  of  Nero,  until  his 
baleful  career  was  ended  by  a  natural  death  in 
1580. 

Having  obtained  from  the  new  governor,  Pedro 
de  los  Rios,  fresh  men  and  suppUes,  Ahnagro 
returned  to  the  San  Juan,  where  he  found  his 
comrades  nearly  dead  with  himger.  Explorers 
and  military  men  will  all  agree  that  it  is  not  easy 
to  carry  on  operations  at  a  distance  of  a  thou- 
sand miles  from  one's  base.  In  those  dreary  ex- 
peditions each  step  in  advance  necessitated  a  step 
backward,  and  the  discouragement  must  have 
been  hard  to  endure.  On  the  third  start  the  ad- 
venturers coasted  nearly  down  to  the  equator  and 

1  In  Mr.  Markliam^s  chapter  on  the  Conquest  of  Pern  in  Win- 
8or*8  Narrative  and  Critical  History ,  toL  ii.  p.  507,  Ruiz  \&  said  \m 
have  been  ^*  the  first  European  to  cross  the  equator  on  the  Pacifie 
Ocean."  Magellan  had  crossed  it  five  years  before  from  sooth  Xm 
north.    Aligwindo  dTrmitat  bonug  Homenu. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  393 

"^rere  finding  more  frequep.t  symptoms  of  civiliza- 
't;ion  upon  the  shores  they  passed,  when  at  length 
it  became  necessary  to  send  back  again  to  Panama, 
^gain  Pizarro  halted,  this  time  upon  the  little 
islajid  of  Gallo,  until  his  partner  shoidd  return. 
-After  many  weeks  of  misery  spent  under  the 
cirenching  tropical  rain,  the  starving  men  descried 
s  white  sail  in  the  offing ;  but  it  was  not  Almagro. 
The  governor,  disgusted  at  such  a  prolonged  wild- 
g^oose  chase,  had  detained  that  commander,  and 
sent  a  ship  with  strict  orders  to  bring  back  Pi- 
asarro  and  all  his  men.  For  the  most  part  the 
-^eary  creatures  1^  lost  heart  for  their  ^.e  ^  t 
>¥ork,  and  were  eager  to  go.  But  the  ^^^' 
clogged  Pizarro,  whose  resolution  had  kept  stiffen- 
ing with  each  breath  of  adversity,  refused  to  budge. 
Drawing  an  east-and-west  line  upon  the  sandy 
Ibeach  with  the  point  of  his  long  sword,  he  briefly 
observed  that  to  the  south  of  that  line  lay  danger 
«md  glory,  to  the  north  of  it  ease  and  safety ;  and, 
oalling  upon  his  men  to  choose  each  for  himself, 
be  stepped  across.  Sixteen  staunch  men  followed 
tiieir  commander;^  the  rest  embarked  and  went 

1  The  nameB  of  the  sixteen  have  heen  preserved,  and  may  be 
ifoand,  with  brief  biographical  notices,  in  Winsor,  op.  cit.  iL  510. 
•Among  them,  fortunately,  was  the  daring  and  skilful  pilot  Ruiz. 
A  second  was  the  Cretan  artillery  officer,  Pedro  de  Candia,  whose 
mon  was  afterwards,  at  Cuzco,  a  schoolmate  of  Garcilasso  de  la 
Vega,  the  historian.  Garcilasso  relates  the  incident  with  much 
l^recision  of  detail.  Sir  Arthur  Helps  is  inclined  to  dismiss  it  as 
IJieatrical  and  improbable.  Perhaps  he  would  regard  Pedro  de 
C3andia's  testimony  as  worthless  an3rway,  in  view  of  the  old  adage 
iCfri|r«i  Acl  i^cucrrai.  Seriously,  however,  the  evidence  (including 
that  of  Pizarro's  secretary  Xeres)  seems  to  be  very  good  indeed, 
i^nd  as  for  the  melodramatio  character  of  the  story,  it  must  be 


394  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA, 

on  their  way.  After  they  had  gone  Pizarro  and 
his  comrades  made  a  raft  and  paddled  to  the  is- 
land of  Gorgona,  where  they  lived  on  sach  shell* 
fish  as  they  could  find  upon  the  shore,  and  now 
and  then  shot  a  passing  bird. 

When  the  ship  arrived  at  Panama  without  them, 
Los  Rios  declared  that  he  would  leave  such  f  odr 
hardy  creatjures  to  their  fate ;  but  he  was  presently 
persuaded  to  send  another  ship,  which  found  Pizarro 
Diaoovexy  of  *"^^  ^^®  P^rty  after  they  had  staid  seven 
^®™-  months  upon  Gorgona.    The  skill  of  the 

pilot  Ruiz  now  came  into  play,  and  in  this  little 
ship  the  party  made  a  voyage  of  discovery,  landed 
at  Tumbez,  and  admired  the  arts  and  wealth  of  one 
of  the  most  important  of  the  Inca's  cities.  Thence 
they  continued  coasting  beyond  the  site  of  Tru- 
jillo,  more  than  600  miles  south  of  the  equator, 
when,  having  seen  enough  to  convince  them  that 
they  had  actually  found  the  golden  kingdom,  they 
returned  to  Panama,  carrying  with  them  live 
llamas,  fine  garments  of  vicuna  wool,  curiously 
wrought  vases  of  gold  and  silver,  and  two  or  three 
yoimg  Peruvians  to  be  taught  to  speak  Spanish 
and  serve  as  interpreters. 

Enough  had  now  been  ascertained  to  make  it 
desirable  for  Pizarro  to  go  to  Spain  and  put  the 

borne  in  mind  that  the  sixteenth  century  was  a  theatrical  age, 
L  e.  the  sober  realities  of  that  time  are  theatrical  material  for 
oar  own.  It  is  interesting  and  curious  to  see  how  differently  Mr. 
Prescott  regards  Pizarro's  act :  —  **  He  announced  his  own  pur- 
pose in  a  laconic  but  decided  manner,  characteristic  of  a  man 
more  accustomed  to  act  than  to  talk,  and  well  calculated  to  make 
an  impression  on  hia  rough  followers.'*  —  Conquest  of  Peru^ 
Book  IL  chap.  iy. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  895 

enterprise  upon  a  more  independent  footing.  On 
his  arrival  at  Seville  in  the  summer  of  1528,  it 
was  his  luck  to  encounter  the  lawyer  Enciso,  who 
straightway  clapped  him  into  jail  for  a  pismrro*B  Tidt 
small  debt  which  dated  from  the  found-  ^  ^'^ 
ing  of  Darien  some  eighteen  years  before.  But 
the  discoverer  of  Peru  was  now  in  high  favour  at 
court ;  so  the  man  of  red  tape  was  snubbed,  and 
Pizarro  went  on  to  Toledo  to  pay  his  respects  tc. 
the  emperor.  The  story  of  his  romantic  adven- 
tures made  him  the  hero  of  the  hour.  He  was 
ennobled  by  letters  patent,  and  so  were  the  com- 
rades who  had  crossed  the  line  with  him  at  Gallo. 
He  was  appointed  captain-general  and  adelantado 
of  Peru,  titles  which  he  was  to  make  good  by  con- 
quering that  coimtry  for  thrifty  Charles  V. ;  and  so 
in  1530  he  returned  to  Panama,  taking  with  him 
his  foup  brothers  and  a  small  party  of  enthusiastic 
followers. 

Of  all  the  brothers  Fernando  was  the  eldest  and 
the  only  legitimate  son  of  his  father.  His  char- 
acter has  perhaps  suffered  somewhat  at  the  hands 
of  historians  through  tlie  sympathy  that  has  been 
generally  felt  for  the  misfortunes  of  his  enemy,  the 
"under  dog,"  Almagro.  Fernando  Pizarro  was 
surely  the  ablest  and  most  intelligent  of  the  fam- 
ily. He  had  received  a  good  education.  To  say 
that  he  was  not  more  harsh  or  unscru-  ^he  Piwirro 
pidous  than  his  brethren  is  faint  com-  *»'®"»«"- 
mcndation ;  but  there  were  times  when  he  showed 
signal  clemency.  Gonzalo  and  Juan  Pizarro  were 
full  brothers  of  Francisco,  but  much  younger ; 
Martinez  de  Alcantara  was  son  of  the  same  frail 


896  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

mother  by  a  difFerent  father.  As  soldiers  all  were 
conspicuous  for  bull-dog  tenacity  and  ranked  among 
the  bravest  of  the  brave. 

It  was  with  an  ill  grace  that  Almagro  saw  so 
many  of  his  partner's  family  coming  to  share  in 
g^jjjg^  the  anticipated  glory  and  booty.     He 

■'^•*  instantly  recognized   Femando's    com- 

manding influence  and  felt  himself  in  a  measure 
thrust  into  the  background.  Thus  the  seeds  of  a 
deadly  feud  were  not  long  in  sowing  themselves. 

In  December,  1531,  the  Pizarros  started  in  ad- 
vance, with  about  200  men  and  50  horses.  When 
they  arrived  at  Tumbez  in  the  following  spring, 
they  learned  that  a  civil  war  was  raging.  The 
conquering  Inca,  Huayna  Capac,  had  died  in  1523 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  lawful  heir  Huascar,  son 
of  his  Coya,  or  only  legitimate  wife.  The  next 
in  succession,  according  to  Peruvian  rules,  seems 
ciTfl  wmr  In  ^  ^^®  h^Qn  Mauco,  of  whom  we  shall 
^*™»n^"^*^  have  more  to  say  presently.     But  the 


Ion 


AuhuAipa.  late  Inca  had  a  son  by  one  of  his  con- 
cubines, the  daughter  of  a  vanquished  chief  or 
tribal  king  of  the  Quitus ;  and  this  son  Atahualpa 
had  been  a  favourite  with  his  father.  When 
Huascar  came  to  the  throne,  Atahualpa  was  made 
ruler  of  Quito,  apparently  in  accordance  with  his 
father*s  wishes.  Under  no  circumstances  was  Ata- 
hualpa eligible  for  the  position  of  reigning  Inca. 
He  ^^Tis  neither  the  child  of  a  Coya  nor  of  a  wo- 
man of  pure  Inca  blood,  but  of  a  foreign  woman, 
and  was  therefore  an  out  and  out  bastard.  About 
three  years  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  how. 
6ver«  Atahualpa,  with  the  aid  of  two  powerful  chief* 


398  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

tains,  Quizquiz  and  Chalcuchima,  left  his  own  ter« 
ritory  and  marched  upon  Cuzco.  The  war  which 
ensued  was  characterized  by  wholesale  barbarity. 
At  length  Atahualpa*s  chieftains  defeated  and  cap- 
tured the  Inca,  and,  entering  Cuzco  in  triumph, 
massacred  his  family  and  friends  as  far  as  they 
could  be  found.  But  the  Inca  Huascar  himself 
they  did  not  put  to  death,  for  they  realized  that  it 
might  be  necessary  to  use  him  as  an  instrument 
for  governing  the  country.^  Atahualpa  put  on  the 
tasselled  crimson  cap,  or  Inca  diadem,  and  pro- 
ceeding on  liis  way  to  Cuzco  had  arrived  at  Caxa- 
marca,  when  couriers  brought  him  news  of  the 

Arrival  of  the  ^^*®  ^^^  bearded  strangers  coming  up 
BpMiUrds.  from  the  sea,  clad  in  shining  panoply, 
riding  upon  unearthly  monsters,  and  wielding 
deadly  thunderbolts.  The  new-comers  were  every- 
where regarded  ^dth  extreme  wonder  and  dread^ 
but  their  demeanour  toward  the  natives  had  been  in 
the  main  friendly,  as  the  Pizarros  understood  the 
necessity  of  enforcing  strict  discipline. 

Phiinly  it  was  worth  while  to  court  the  favour 
of  these  m}^terious  beings,  and  Atahualpa  sent  as 
an  envoy  his  brother  Titu  Atauchi  with  presents 
and  words  of  welcome.  Pizarro  had  been  rein- 
foroeil  by  Fernando  de  Soto  with  100  men  and  a 
fresh  supply  of  horses ;  he  had  built  a  small  for- 
tress near  the  mouth  of  the  Piura  river,  to  serve  as 
a  base  of  operations ;  and  late  in  September,  1532, 
he  had  starte<l  on  his  march  into  the  interior,  with 
about  two  thirds  of  his  little  force.     Titu  found 

'  Somewhat  m  Corhw  used  Monterama;   see  GareilMeo,  Co 
ttenianm  rtaUsy  pt  L  lib.  iz.  cap. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  399 

lim  at  Zaran,  a  village  among  the  foothills  of  the 
-Ajides.    When  Garcilasso  ^  tells  ns  that  the  envoy 
Jiambled   himself  before   Pizarro   and  addressed 
Jnia  as  "  son  of  Viraeocha,"  he  reveals  ^hey  wen 
tie  theory  which  the  Peruvians  doubt-  ~2,^vi^ 
less  held   concerning    the   new-comers.  «*^*^*»*-" 
^iraeocha  was  the  counterpart  of  Zeu3,  the  sky- 
^od,  arising  from  the  sea-foam,  the  power  that 
^thers  the  clouds  and  delights  in  thunder.     Like 
Apollo  and  other  Greek  solar  deities  he  was  con- 
ceived as  fair  in  complexion  with  bright  or  golden 
lair.     After  the  conquest  of  Peru  the  name  vira- 
cacha  passed  into  a  common  noim  meaning  ^^  white 
man,"  and  it  is  still  used  in  this  sense  at  the  pres- 
ent day.^    For  the  red  man  to  call  the  white  stran- 
ger a  child  of  Viracocha  might  under  some  cir- 
cumstances be  regarded  as  a  form  of  ceremonious 
politeness,  or  the  phrase  might  even  be  a  mere 
descriptive  epithet;  but  under  the  circiunstances 
of  Titu's  visit  to  Pizarro  we  can  hardly  doubt  that 
the  new-comers  were  really  invested  with  super- 
natural terrors,  that  the  feeling  of  the  Peruvians 
was  like  that  which  had  led  the  Mexicans  at  first 
to  take  it  for  granted  that  their  visitors  must  be 
children  of  Quetzalcoatl.      Upon  any  other  sup- 
position it  does  not  seem  possible  to  understand  the 
events  that  followed. 

After  receiving  and  dismissing  the  envoy  with  as- 
surances of  friendship,  Pizarro  pushed  on  through 
the  mountains  and  entered  Caxamarca  on  the  15th 
of  November.     It  was  a  town  of  about  2,000  in- 


^  Comentarios  reales,  pt  ii.  lib.  i.  cap. 

s  Brinton,  M^  of  the  New  World,  p.  180. 


400  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

habitants.^  The  houses  were  chiefly  of  adobe 
brick  with  thatched  roofs,  but  some  were  built  of 
hewn  stones  laid  together  without  oe- 
ment.  Around  the  great  open  square, 
which  might  serve  as  market-place  or  mustering 
groimd,  were  what  the  Spaniards  called  capacious 
barracks.  Hard  by  was  a  temple  of  the  Sun,  with 
a  convent  of  vestals  charged  with  the  care  of  the 
sacred  fire.  The  town  was  overlooked  by  a  cir- 
cular tower  of  defence,  girt  with  a  rampart  ascend- 
ing spirally,  somewhat,  I  fancy,  as  in  old  pictures 
of  the  tower  of  Babel.  On  a  rising  ground  some 
two  miles  distant  was  encamped  Atahualpa's  army, 
—  some  thousands  of  Indians  in  quilted  cotton 
doublets,  with  bucklers  of  stiff  hide,  long  bronze- 
pointed  lances  and  copper-headed  clubs,  as  well  as 
bows,  slings,  and  lassos,  in  the  flse  of  which  these 
warriors  were  expert.  Toward  nightfall  Fernando 
Pizarro  and  Fernando  de  Soto,  with  five-and-thirty 
horsemen,  went  to  visit  the  self-styled  Inca  in  his 
quarters,  and  f oimd  him  surrounded  with  chieftains 
and  bedizened  female  slaves.  After  introducing 
themselves  and  inviting  Atahualpa  to  a  conference 
with  their  commander  next  day  in  the  market- 
place, the  cavaliers  withdrew.  On  both  sides  the 
extreme  of  ceremonious  politeness  had  been  ob- 
served.^   Surely  so  strange  an  interview  was  never 

^  It  is  weU  described  in  '*  A  Troe  Accoant  of  the  Prorinee  of 
Ciizco/'  by  Pizarro*8  secretary^  Francisco  de  Xeres,  in  Markham*8 
Reports  on  the  Discover jf  of  PenL,  London,  1872  (Haklayt  Society). 

'  Except  for  a  moment  when  Soto*8  steed,  at  the  malicious  and 
prudent  touch  of  his  rider's  spar,  pranced  and  curvetted,  to  the 
intense  dismay  of  half-a-dozen  dosky  warriors,  whom  Atahoalpoi 
after  the  departure  of  the  visitors,  promptly  beheaded  for  show* 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  401 

seen  save  when   Montezuma  ushered  Cortes  into 
^he  city  of  Mexico.     Between  the  two  cases  there 
"^vas  an  essential  likeness.     It  is  clear  that  Ata- 
lualpa  and  his  men  were  paralyzed  with  supersti- 
'^ous  dread,  while  the  Spaniards  on  their  part  were 
'y^ell  aware  that  according  to  all  military  principles 
"tliey  had  thrust  themselves  into  a  very  dangerous 
'position.     As  they  looked  out  that  anxious  night 
tipon   the  mountain-slope  before  them,  gleaming 
^with   innumerable   watch-fires,  we   are  told   that 
many  were  profoundly  dejected.     The  leaders  saw 
tliat  there  must  not  be  a  moment's  delay  in  taking 
advantage  of   the  superstitious  fears  of  the   In- 
dians.    They  must  at  once  get  po|session  of  this 
Inca's  person.     Here,  of  course,  the  Pizarros  took 
their  cue  from  Cortes.     In  repeating  the  experi- 
ment they  showed  less  subtlety  and  more  brutality 
than  the  conqueror  of  Mexico ;   and  while  some 
allowance  must  be  made  for  differences  in  the  sit- 
uation, one  feels  nevertheless  that  the  native  wit 
of  Cortes  had  a  much  keener  edge  than  that  of  his 
imitators. 

Atahualpa  must  have  passed  the  night  in  quite 
as  much  uneasiness  as  the  Spaniards.  When  he 
came  next  day  strongly  escorted  into  the  market- 
place he  found  no  one  to  receive  him,  for  Pizarro 
had  skillfully  concealed  his  men  in  the  neighbour- 
iog  houses.  Presently  a  solitary  w^hite  man,  the 
priest  Valverde,  came  forth  to  greet  the  Inca,  and 
proceeded  —  through  one  of  the  interpreters  here- 

ing  fiig^ht  (Zarate,  Conguista  del  Peru,  ii.  4) ;  an  interesting  touch 
of  human  natnre  I  Garcilaaso  (pt.  i.  lib.  ix.  cap.  xri.)  gives  a  vivid 
account  of  the  uncontrollable  agonies  of  terror  with  which  the 
Femvians  regarded  horses. 


402  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

tofore  mentioned  —  to  read  him  a  long-winded  dia— 
quisition  on  dogmatic  theology  and  church  histoiy, 
beginning  with  the  creation  of  Adam  and  passing- 
stage  by  stage  to  the  calling  of  St.  Peter,  and  so 
on  to  the  bull  by  which  Alexander  VI.  had  given 
the  kingdom  of  the  Incas  (along  with  other  realms 
Capture  of       *^^  nimicrous  to  mention)  to  the  Most 
Atahuaipa.       Catholic    King.      In    conclusion    Ata- 
hualpa  was  siunmoned,  under  penalty  of  fire  and 
sword,  to  acknowledge  the  papal  supremacy  and 
pay  tribute  to  Charles  V.^     Of  this  precious  rig- 
marole the  would-be  Inca  probably  fathomed  just 
enough  to  be  convinced  that  the  mysterious  stran- 
gers, instead  oi  being  likely  to  lend  him  aid,  were 
an  obstacle  of  unknown  strength  to  be  reckoned 
with ;  and  in  a  fit  of  petulant  disappointment  he 
threw  upon  the  ground  the  Bible  which  the  priest 
had  handed  him.     As  soon  as  this  was  reported  to 
Pizarro  the  war-cry  "  Santiago  I  "  resounded,  the    - 
ambushed  Spaniards  rushed  forth  and  seized  Ata- 
hualpa,  and  for  two  hours  a  butchery  went  on  in 
which  some  hundreds  of  his  bewildered  followers 
perished. 

The  success  of  this  blow  was  such  as  the  wildest 
imagination  could  not  have  foreseen.  Here  at  the 
crisis  of  the  war  the  superhuman  "  sons  of  Vira- 
cocha"  had  come  upon  the  scene  and  taken  mat- 
ters into  their  own  hands.  They  held  the  person 
of  the  sacrilegious  usurper  Atahualj^a,  and  men 

^  There  is  a  gooA  abstract  of  this  speech,  with  some  eminently 
sound  critical  remarks,  in  Helps's  SpaniiOi  Conquest^  vol.  iii.  pp. 
5!i3-*541.  Compare  the  famous  Requerimiento  of  Dr.  Falaciof 
RubioB,  id,y  toL.  i.  pp.  379-384. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PEIiU.  403 

ho  had  rashly  come  too  near  them  had  been  slain 

"with  unearthly  weapons,   struck   down   as   if   by 

lightning.     The  people  were  dumb  and  helpless. 

The  strangers  treated  Atahualpa  politely,  and  such 

edicts  as  they  issued  through  him  were   obeyed 

in  some  parts  of  the  country. 

His  first  thought  was  naturally  for  his  liberation. 
Confined  in  a  room  twenty-two  feet  in  length  by 
seventeen  in  width,  he  made  a  mark  upon  the  wall 
as  high  as  he  could  reach  with  his  hand,  and  offered 
as  ransom  gold  enough  to  fill  the  room  up  to  that 
height.  Pizarro  accepted  the  offer,  and 
the  ffold  beg:an  to  be  collected,  larerely  lected  for 

T  ,  -  ,         ,  Atahualpa. 

m  the  shape  of  vases  and  other  oma- 
xnents  of  temples.  But  it  came  in  more  slowly 
than  Atahualpa  had  expected,  and  in  June,  1538, 
the  stipulated  quantity  was  not  yet  complete.  In 
some  towns  the  priests  dismantled  the  sacred  edi- 
fices and  hid  their  treasures,  waiting  apparently 
for  the  crisis  to  pass.  The  utter  paralysis  of  the 
people  in  presence  of  the  white  men  was  scarcely 
matched  by  anything  in  the  story  of  Cortes.  While 
the  treasure  was  collecting,  Fernando  Pizarro,  with 
twenty  horsemen  and  half-a-dozen  arquebusiers, 
made  a  journey  of  four  hundred  miles  through  the 
heart  of  the  country  to  the  famous  temple  of  Pa- 
chacamac,  and  although  they  boldly  desecrated  the 
sacred  shrine  they  went  and  came  immolested  I  ^ 

^  The  people  believed  that  no  one  but  the  consecrated  priests 
of  Pachacamac  could  enter  the  shrine  of  the  wooden  idol  withoat 
inatantly  perishing.  So  when  Fernando  Pizarro  coolly  walked  in 
and  smashed  the  "  g^yen  ima^,"  and  had  the  shrine  demolished, 
and  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  as  "  an  invincible  weapon  against 
the  Devil,'*  they  concluded  that  he  most  be  a  godi  who  knew 


404  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Soon  after  Fernando's  return  to  Caxamarca,  in 
April,  Almagro  arrived  at  that  town,  with  his 
party  of  150  soldiers  and  84  horses.  In  June  the 
enormous  spoil  of  gold,  equivalent  to  more  than 
$15,000,000  in  modem  reckoning,  besides  a  vast 
amount  of  silver,  was  divided  among  the  children 
of  the  sky-god.  Almagro's  newly  arrived  men 
wished  to  share  equally  with  the  others,  and  as 
they  were  obliged  to  content  themselves  with  a 
much  smaller  portion,  there  was  fresh  occasion  for 
ill-feeling  between  Almagro  and  the  Pizarros. 

Fernando  Pizarro  was  now  sent  to  Spain  with 
the  emperor's  share  of  the  plunder.  Atahualpa 
placed  more  trust  in  him  than  in  the  others,  and 
gave  expression  to  a  fear  that  his  own  safety  was 
imperilled  by  his  departure.  The  atmosphere 
Murder  of  sccms  to  havc  bccn  heavy  with  intrigue. 
inc«^Hull!^ar  From  Cuzco  tlic  imprisoucd  Inca  Huas- 
by  Atahualpa.    ^^^   offered  the   Spaniards   a  treasure 

stUl  larger  than  they  had  as  yet  received,  on  con- 
d  it  ion  that  they  would  set  him  free  and  support 
him  against  Ataliualpa.  The  latter  heard  of  this, 
and  soon  afterward  Iluascar  was  secretly  mur- 
dered. At  the  same  time  the  Spaniards,  still  un- 
easy and  sus})icious,  as  was  natural,  had  reason 
to  believe  that  Atahualpa  was  privately  send- 
ing forth  instructions  to  his  chieftains  to  arouse 
their  parts  of  the  country.  AVlien  one  is  driven 
to  despair,  one  is  ready  to  fight  even  against 
sky-gods.      Pizarro  saw  that  it  would  not  do  for 

what  he  was  about,  and  with  whom  it  would  be  unsafe  to  in- 
terfere. See  Squier's  PerUj  p.  05 ;  Markham,  lieports  on  the  Dis' 
covtry  of  l*eru,  London,  1872,  p.  83. 


THE  COX  QUEST  OF  PERU.  405 

s^    moment   to    allow   such   proceedings.     A   sav- 
stge   display  of  power  seemed  necessary ;  and  so 
^tahualpa,  having  been  brought  to  trial  for  con- 
spiracy against  the  white  men,  for  the  murder  of 
Ids  brother,  and  for  divers  other  crimes,  even  in- 
cluding idolatry  and  polygamy,  was  duly  convicted 
and  sentenced  to  be  burned  at  the  stake.     On  his 
consenting  to  accept  baptism  the  sen-  ^t^u^.^ 
tence  was  commuted  for  a  milder  one,  K\J|^gS^ 
and  on  the  29th  of  August,  in  the  pub-  *"^ 
lie  square  at  Caxamarca,  Atahualpa,  was  strangled 
with  a  bow-string.     At  this   time  Fernando  de 
Soto  was  absent ;  on  his  return  he  denounced  the 
execution  as  both  shameful  and  rash.     As  to  the 
shamefulness  of  the  transaction  modem  historians 
can  have  but  one  opinion.     Personal  sympathy,  of 
coarse,  would  be  wasted  upon  such  a  bloodthirsty 
wretch  as  Atahualpa  ;  but  as  for  the  Spaniards,  it 
would  seem  that  perfidy  could  no  farther  go  than 
to  accept  an  enormous  ransom  from  a  captive 
and  then  put  him  to  death.    As  a  question  of  mili- 
tary policy,  divorced  from  considerations  of  moral- 
ity, the  case  is  not  so  clear.     The  Spaniards  were 
taking  possession  of  Peru  by  the  same   sort  of 
right  as  that  by  which  the  lion  springs  upon  his 
prey ;  there  was  nothing  that  was  moral  about  it, 
and  their  consciences  were  at  no  time  scrupulous 
as  to  keeping  faith  with  heretics  or  with  heathen. 
They  were  guided  purely  by   considerations   of 
their  own  safety  and  success,  and  they  slew  Ata- 
hualpa in  the  same  spirit  that  Napoleon  murdered 
the  Duke  d'Enghien,  because  they  deemed  it  good 
policy  to  do  so.     In  this   Pizarro  and  Almagro 


406  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

were  agreed ;  Soto  and  a  few  others  were  of  a  dif« 
f  erent  opinion,  and  it  is  not  easy  now  to  tell  which 
side  conceived  the  military  situation  most  cor- 
rectly. 

In  order  to  control  the  country  Pizarro  must 
control  the  person  of  the  Inca,  and  that  sovereign 
must  understand  that  to  conspire  against  the 
"sons  of  Viracocha"  was  simply  to  bring  down 
sure  and  swift  destruction  upon  himself.  There 
was  reason  for  believing  that  Atahualpa's  usurped 
authority  was  not  so  willingly  recognized  by  the 
country  as  that  of  the  genuine  Inca ;  and  Pizarro 
had  expressed  an  intention  of  bringing  Huascar 
to  Caxamarca  and  deciding  between  his  claims 
and  those  of  Atahualpa,  when  his  purpose  was 
frustrated  by  the  assassination  of  the  former.  It 
thus  appears  that  there  was  a  valid  political  rea- 
son for  holding  Atahualpa  responsible  for  the 
murder. 

For  the  present  Pizarro  proclaimed  Toparca, 
one  of  Atahualpa's  sons,  but  the  lad  fell  sick  and 
died  within  a  few  weeks.  S^nnptoms  of  anarchy 
were  here  and  there  manifested;  in  some  towns 
there  were  riots,  and  distant  chieftains  prepared 
to  throw  off  their  allegiance.  On  the  march  to 
Cuzco,  which  began  late  in  September,  the  Span- 
iards, now  about  500  in  number,  were  for  the  first 
time  attacked.  The  assailants  were  6,000  Indians, 
led  by  Atahualpa's  brother,  Titu  Atauchi,  but 
the  Spaniards  beat  them  off  without  serious  loss. 
Pizarro  laid  the  blame  of  this  attac*k  upon  the 
chieftain  Chalcuchima,  whom  he  had  with  liim,  and 
the  Indian  was  accordingly  burned  at  the  stake  for 


TUE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  407 

an  example.  A  few  days  afterward,  Maneo,  al- 
ready mentioned  as  next  to  Huascar  in  ^he  true  inc», 
the  customary  line  of  succession,  came  SSubinSrion! 
to  the  Spanish  camp  and  made  his  sub-  StedTatcSfS 
mission  in  due  form.  It  was  a  great  ^y^*«*»^ 
and  decisive  triumph  for  Pizarro.  He  lost  no 
time  in  proclaiming  the  new  Inca  under  the  style 
of  Manco  Capac  Yupanqui,  and  on  the  15th  of 
November,  1533,  the  sovereign  and  his  supernat- 
ural guardians  made  a  solemn  entry  into  Cuzco, 
where  the  usual  inaugural  ceremonies  and  festivi- 
ties took  place.  It  was  the  anniversary  of  Pizar- 
ro's  entry  into  Caxamarca.  In  that  one  eventful 
year  he  had  overthrown  the  usurper,  and  now,  as 
he  placed  the  crimson  cap  upon  the  head  of  the 
legitimate  Inca,  might  it  not  seem  that  he  had 
completed  the  conquest  of  the  golden  kingdom? 
Relying  upon  the  superstitious  awe  which  had 
helped  him  to  such  an  astounding  result,  he  ven- 
tured in  the  course  of  the  next  four  months  to  set 
up  a  Spanish  municipal  government  in  Cuzco,  to 
seize  upon  divers  houses  and  public  buildings  for 
his  followers,  and  to  convert  the  Temple  of  the 
Sun  into  a  Dominican  monastery. 

The  chieftain  Quizquiz,  with  a  portion  of  Ata- 
hualpa's  forces,  held  out  against  the  new  Inca, 
whereupon  Almagro  in  a  brief  campaign  drove 
him  into  the  Quito  territory  and  overpowered  him. 
Meanwhile  the  news  of  all  these  wonderful  events 
had  reached  the  ears  of  Pedro  de  Alva-  PedrodeAiva- 
rado  in  Guatemala,  and  not  yet  satiated  "^**' 
with  adventure,  that  cavalier,  with  500  followers, 
sailed  for  the  South  American  coast,  landed  in 


408  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

the  bay  of  Caraques,  and  after  a  terrible  marcli 

through  the  wilderness,  in  which  one  fourth  of  the 

number  perished,  he  came  up  with  Almagro  at 

Kiobamba.     After  some  parley,  as  his  men  showed 

symptoms  of  deserting  to  Almagro,  Al\rarado  came 

to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  wiser  not  to 

interfere  in  this  part  of  the  world.     He  consented 

to  be  bought  off  for  a  good  roimd  sum,  and  went 

back  to  Guatemala,  leaving  most  of  his  men  to 

recruit  the  Spanish  forces  in  Peru. 

The  arrival  of  Fernando  Pizarro  in  Spain,  with 

his  load  of  gold  and  his  tale  of  adventure,  aroused 

such  excitement  as  had  hardly  been  felt  since  the 

return  of  Columbus  fi'om  his  first  voyage  across 

Effect  of  the     ^^^^   Sca   of   Darkucss.      Again   Span- 
news  in  Spain.  j^j.jg  ^^^^^  flockiog  to  the  New  World, 

and  sliips  plied  frequently  between  Panama  and 
the  shores  of  the  Inca's  country.  For  commercial 
purposes  a  seat  of  government  on  the  coast  was 
preferable  to  Ciizco,  and  accordingly  on  the  6th 
of  January,  1535,  Francisco  Pizan'o  founded  the 
city  of  Lima.  While  he  was  busy  in  laying  out 
streets  and  putting  up  houses  his  brother  Fer- 
nando returned  from  Spain.  Francisco  had  been 
created  a  marquis  and  the  territory  subject  to  his 
government  had  been  described  in  the  royal  patent 
as  extending  southward  270  leagues  from  the 
river  Santiago,  in  latitude  1°  20'  north.  Provi- 
sion had  also  been  made  for  Almagro,  but  in  such 
wise  as  to  get  him  as  far  out  of  the  way  as  possi- 
ble. He  was  appointed  governor  of  the  country 
to  the  south  of  Pizarro's,  with  the  title  of  marshaL 
Pizarro's  province  was  to  be  called  New  Castile; 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PEBU,  409 

^linagro's,  which  covered  Chili,  or  the  greater  part 
^Df  it,  was  to  be  called  New  Toledo. 

Thus  with  fair  phrases  Almagro  was  virtually 
set  aside ;  he  was  told  that  he  might  go  and  con- 
quer a  new  and   unknown   coiintry  for  himself, 
"while  the  rich  country  already  won  was 
"to   be  monopolized    by    the    Pizarros.  Kiuit;he8tarta 
Theirs  was  the  bird  in  the  hand,  his 
^he  bird   in   the   bush;  and  no  wonder  that  his 
^wrath  waxed  hot  against  Fernando.     In  this  mood 
Le  insisted  that  at  any  rate  the  city  of  Cuzco  fell 
south  of  the  boundary-line,  and  therefore  within 
liis  jurisdiction.     This  was   not   really  the  case, 
though  its  nearness  to  the  line  afforded  groimd  for 
doubt,  and  something  might  depend  upon  the  way 
in  which  the  distance  from  the  river  Santiago  was 
measured.     Almagro  was  a  weak  man,  apt  to  be 
swayed  by  the  kind  of  argument  that  happened 
to  be  poured  into  his  ears  for  the  moment.     At 
first  he  was  persuaded   to  abandon  his  claim  to 
Cuzco,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1535  he  started  on 
his   march  for  Chili,  with  200   Spaniards  and  a 
large  force  of  Indians  led  by  the  Inca's  brother 
Paullu,  and  accompanied  by  the  high   priest  or 
Villac  Umu.     There  were  to  be  stirring  times  be- 
fore his  return. 

Three  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  seizure  of 
Atahualpa,  and  two  since  the  coronation  of  Manco, 
and  quiet  seems  to  have  been  generally  main- 
tained. But  the  Inca's  opinion  as  to  the  char- 
acter and  business  of  the  white  strangers  must 
needs  have  been  modified  by  what  was  going  on. 
I£  1^  first  he  may  have  welcomed  their  aid  in 


410  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

overthrowing  the  rival  party  and  helping  him  to 
his  throne,  he  could  now  see  unmistakable  signs 
that*  they  had  come  to  stay.  Spaniards  were 
arriving  by  the  ship -load;  they  were  building 
towns,  seizing  estates  and  enslaNdng  the  people, 
despoiling  temples,  and  otherwise  comporting  them- 
selves as  odious  masters.  Mere  familiarity  must 
have  done  something  toward  dispelling  the  gla- 
mour which  had  at  first  surrounded  and  protected 
them.  -S^sop's  fox  nearly  died  of  fright  on  first 
seeing  a  lion,  but  by  and  by  made  bold  to  go  up 
to  him  and  ask  him  how  he  did.  In  an  emergency 
it  might  be  worth  while  to  test  the  power  of  the 
new  t>Tants  and  see  if  they  were  really  the  sacred 
children  of  Vira(;oeha.  The  departure  of  Almagro 
for  Chili  offered  a  favourable  moment 

Manco  plans        -  .  . 

aniuBurrec  lor  an  insunection,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  plans  of  the  Inca  and 
his  friends  were  deliberately  concerted.  Almagro 
had  not  proceeded  many  days'  march  when  PauUu 
and  the  Villac  Urau  deserted  him  wdth  their  In- 
dians and  huiTied  back  toward  Cuzco,  while  at 
the  same  time  the  Inca  succeeded  in  escaping 
from  the  city.  Now  ensued  the  only  serious  war- 
fare between  Spaniard  and  Indian  wliich  the  con- 
quest of  Peru  involved.  With  astonishing  sud- 
denness and  vehemence  the  rebellion  broke  out  in 
many  parts  of  the  country,  so  that  the  communi- 
cation between  Cuzco  and  Lima  was  cut,  and  for 
some  months  the  Spaniards  in  the  one  town  did 
not  know  whether  their  friends  in  the  other  were 
alive  or  dead.  Francisco  Pizarro  at  Lima  was 
fain  to  call  for  succoui*  from  Panama,  Guatemala, 


TUB  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  411 

and  Mexico.     The  Inea  occupied  the  great  Sacsa- 
huaman  fortress  overlooking  Cuzco,  and  laid  siege 
to  the  city,  where  Fernando  was  in  com- 
mand, with  his  brothers  Gonzalo   and  besieged  in 
Juan.     For  six  months,  from  February 
to   August,  1536,  the   siege  was   closely  pressed* 
There  were  frequent  and  vigorous   assaults,  and 
how  the  little  band  of  Spaniards  contrived  to  main- 
tain themselves  against  such  terrible  odds  is  one 
of  the  marvels  of  history.     They  not  only  held 
their  own  within   the  walls,  but  made  eflFective 
sorties.      Such  prodigies   of   valour  have  rarely 
been  seen  except  in  those  books  of  chivalry  that 
turned  Don  Quixote's  brain.     Juan  Pizarro  was 
slain  in  an  assault  upon  the   fortress,  but  Fer- 
nando at  length  succeeded  in  taking  it  by  storm. 
After  a  whilet  the  Inca  began  to  find  it  difficult  to 
feed  so  many  mouths.     As  September  Touidefe*t 
approax5hed,  it  was  necessary,  in  order  <>'"»•  i"<^ 
to  avoid  a  famine,  for  large  nmnbers  to  go  home 
and   attend   to   their  planting.     With  his   force 
thus  reduced  the  Inca  retired  into  the  valley  of 
Yucay,  where  he  encountered  Almagro  returning 
from   Chili.     A   battle   ensued,  and   Manco  was 
defeated  with  great  slaughter. 

Almagro's  men,  after   penetrating  more   than 
three  hundred  miles  into  Chili,  and  enduring  the 
extremes   of   cold    and   hunger,   without    finding 
x^ealthy  towns  or  such  occasions  for  pil-  ^^j^u^^^  ^ 
lage  as  they  expected,  had  at  length  be-  JJ^Icmoo 
^un  to  murmur,  and  finally  they  per- 
suaded their  leader  to  return  and  renew  his  claim 
%o  Cuzco.    He  arrived  in  time  to  complete  the  dis- 


412  THE  DISCOVERY  01^  AMERICA. 

comfiture  of  the  Inca,  and  then  appeared  before  that 
city.  He  was  refused  admission,  and  an  agree- 
ment was  made  by  which  he  promised  to  remain 
encamped  outside  until  the  vexed  question  of  juria* 
diction  could  be  peaceably  determined.  Some 
months  of  inaction  passed,  but  at  length,  in  April, 
1537,  Almagro  was  led  to  believe,  perhaps  cor- 
rectly, that  Fernando  Pizarro  was  secretly  strength- 
ening the  works,  with  the  intention  of  holding  the 
city  against  him.  Almagro  thereupon  treated  the 
agreement  as  broken,  seized  the  city  by  surprise, 
and  took  Fernando  and  Gonzalo  prisoners. 

This  act  was  the  beginning  of  a  period  of  eleven 
years  of  civil  disturbance,  in  the  course  of  which 
all  the  principal  actors  were  swept  off  the  stage, 
as  in  some  cheap  blood-and-thunder  tragedy.  For 
our  purposes  it  is  not  worth  while  to  recount  the 
petty  incidents  of  the  struggle,  —  how  Almagro 
was  at  one  moment  ready  to  submit  to  arbitration 
and  the  next  moment  refused  to  abide  by  the  de- 
cision ;  how  Fernando  was  set  at  liberty  and  Gon- 
zalo escaped  ;  how  Almagro's  able  lieutenant, 
Kodrigo  de  Orgonez,  won  a  victory  over  Pizarro's 
men  at  Aban^ay,  but  was  totally  defeated  by  Fer- 
nando Pizarro  at  Las  Salinas  and  per- 
ecntion  of  ishcd  ou  the  field  ;  how  at  last  Fernando 
flnai  defeat  of  had  AlmagTO  tried  for  sedition  and 
summarily  executed.  On  which  side 
was  the  more  violence  and  treachery  it  would  be 
hard  to  say.  Indeed,  as  Sir  Arthur  Helps  ob- 
serves, ^'  in  this  melancholy  story  it  is  difficult  to 
find  anybody  whom  the  reader  can  sympathize 
much  with."     So  far  as  our  story  of  the  conqneal 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  418 

of  Peru  18  concerned,  we  may  observe  the  Span- 
iards once,  in  a  leisure  interval  among  their  own 
squabbles,  turning  their  attention  to  it  I  After 
his  victory  at  Aban^ay  in  July,  1537,  OrgoSez 
completed  the  overthrow  of  the  Inca  Manco,  scat- 
tered his  army,  and  drove  him  to  an  inaccessible 
fastness  in  the  moimtains. 

Almagro's  execution  was  in  July,  1538,  and  the 
next  year  Fernando  Pizarro  thought  it  prudent  to 
return  to  Castile,  with  an  enormous  quantity  of 
gold,  and  give  his  own  account  of  the  late  troubles. 
But,  as  already  observed,  the  Spanish  government 
was  liable  to  resent  too  siunmary  measures  on  the 
part  of  its  servants  in  the  Indies,  and  much  de- 
pended upon  the  kind  of  information  it  obtained 
in  the  first  place.  On  this  occasion  it  ^^^  Fenum- 
got  its  first  impressions  from  friends  of  n^j^S^^x^ 
Almagro,  and  it  fared  ill  with  the  other  ^  ^^*^ 
side.  Fernando  was  kept  under  surveillance  at 
Medina  del  Campo  for  more  than  twenty  years, 
and  was  then  allowed  to  go  home  to  his  estate  in 
Estremadura,  where  he  died  in  1578,  at  the  age,  it 
is  said,  of  one  hundred  and  four  years. 

After  his  brother's  departure  the  Marquis  Pi- 
zarro had  some  further  trouble  with  the  Inca, 
who  from  time  to  time  renewed  a  desultory  war- 
fare among  the  mountains.  It  was  but  a  slight 
annoyance,  however.  Peru  was  really  conquered, 
and  Pizarro  was  able  to  send  out  expeditions  to 
great  distances.  In  March,  1540,  Pedro  de  Val- 
divia  set  out  for  Chili  and  remained  there  seven 
years,  in  the  course  of  which  he  founded  Valpa- 
raiso (September  3,  1544)  and  other  towns,  and 


414  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

for  the  moment  seemed  to  have  conquered  the 
country.  Nevertheless  it  was  here  that 
conquest  of  the  opaniaros  encountered  more  formi- 
dable opposition  than  anywhere  else  in 
America.  On  Valdivia's  return  to  his  colony  in 
1549  its  very  existence  was  imperilled  by  the  as- 
saults of  the  Araucanians.  These  valiant  Indians, 
led  by  their  illustrious  chieftains,  Caupolican  and 
Lautaro,  maintained  a  warfare  which  has  been 
celebrated  in  the  famous  epic  poem  of  Alonso  de 
Ercilla,  who  was  one  of  the  Spanish  officers  en- 
gaged.^ In  this  struggle  Valdivia  perished.  Other 
governors  until  the  end  of  the  century  found  the 
Araucanians  unconquerable ;  and,  indeed,  even  to 
the  present  day  this  aboriginal  American  people 
may  boast,  with  the  Montenegrins  of  the  Balkan 
peninsula,  that  they  have  never  bent  their  necks  to 
the  yoke  of  the  foreigner. 

To  return  to  the  Marquis  Pizarro :  in  1639  he 
put  his  brother  Gonzalo  in  command  over  the 
province  of  Quito,  which  had  been  conquered  by 
Benalcazar,  and  on  Christmas  of  that  year  Gron- 
zalo  started  to  explore  the  cinnamon  forests  to  the 
eastward.  A  memorable  affair  it  was,  and  placed 
this  Pizarro  in  a  conspicuous  place  among  men 
of  incredible  endurance.  His  little  army  of  350 
Expedition  of  Spaniards  (attended  at  the  outset  by 
?^1nJ^irch  4,000  Indians)  crossed  the  Andes  and 
of  El  Dorado,  plunged  deeper  and  deeper  into  the 
wilderness,  until  food  grew  scarce.     Then,  lured 

^  Ercilla,  La  Araucana^  Madrid,  1776,  2  vols.  12°.  Lope  da 
Vega  wrote  a  play  on  the  same  subject,  "  Araoco  Domado,"'  iq 
his  Comediast  ^m*  zz.,  Madrid,  1629. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  416 

on  by  false  reports  of  a  rich  and  fruitful  country 
ahead   (mayhap,   another  golden   kingdom !  why 
not?)  they  pressed  onward,  with  great  exertion 
built  a  small  vessel  capable  of  carrying  part  of 
their  company  and  their  baggage,  and  so,  partly 
on  water,  partly  on  land,  made  their  way  down 
the  Napo  river,  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Ama- 
zon.    Hearing  now  that  the  rich  country  was  to 
be  found  at  the  confluence  of  the  Napo  with  the 
greater  river,  Gonzalo  sent  Francisco  de  Orellana 
ahead  with  fifty  men  in  the  brigantine  to  gather 
supplies,  and  return.     When  OreUana  reached  the 
region  in  question  he  found  scant  sustenance  there, 
and  decided  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  force 
his  vessel  back  against  the  powerful  current.     It 
was  easier  to  keep  on  down  stream  and  see  if  some 
golden  kingdom  might   not  be   found 
upon   its  banks.     So   Orellana  basely  scent  of  the 
left   his    comrades   in    the    lurch,   and 
sailed  down  the  Amazon  4,000  miles  to  its  mouth, 
a  most  astounding  exploit  in  the  navigation  of  an 
unknown  and  very  dangerous  river.     Escaping  the 
perils  of  starvation,  shipwreck,  and  savages,  Orel- 
lana came  out  upon  the  ocean  and  made  his  way 
to  the  island  of  Cubagua,  whence  he  went  soon 
afterward  to  Spain,  and  succeeded  in  raising  an 
expedition  to  return  and  make  conquests  in  the 
Amazon  country,^  but  his  death  and  the  remon- 
strances of  Portugal  frustrated  this  attempt. 

^  "  The  name  of  riyer  of  the  Amazons  vras  gfiven  to  it  because 
Orellana  and  his  people  beheld  the  women  on  its  banks  fighting 
as  Taliantlv  as  the  men.  ...  It  is  not  that  there  are  Amazons  on 
tliat  river,  but  that  they  said  tborw  were,  by  reason  of  the  valour 
of  the  women."  Garcilasso  (Markham's  transL),  lib.  viii.  cap. 
xzu. 


416  TSE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

One  of  Orellana's  companions,  who  had  boldty 
denounced  as  cowardly  and  treacherous  his  inten- 
tion of  deserting  Pizarro,  was  left  behind  to  starve 
in  the  forest,  but  contrived  to  keep  himself  alive 
till  Gonzalo  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Napo,  and 
found  him,  a  mere  skeleton.  On  learning  his  story 
it  became  evident  that  there  was  nothing  to  do  but 
make  the  best  of  their  way  back  to  Quito.     After 

Goniaio'  n-  ^^®  ^^  ^®  most  terrible  marches  re- 
turn to  Quito,  corded  in  history,  a  march  in  which 
more  than  two  thirds  of  the  company  perished, 
Gonzalo  brought  the  famished  survivors  into  Quito 
in  June,  1542,  and  there  he  was  met  by  unwel- 
come news.  During  the  two  and  a  half  years  of 
his  absence  great  changes  liad  taken  place. 

For  a  time  everything  had  gone  prosperously 
with  Francisco  Pizarro.  The  rage  for  silver  and 
gold  had  brouglit  thousands  of  Spaniards  into  the 
country,  and  by  taking  atlvantage  of  the  system 
of  military  roads  and  posts  already  existing,  they 
were  soon  better  able  than  the  Incas  had  ever  been 
to  hold  all  that  territory  in  complete  subjection. 
Pizarro  was  fond  of  building  and  gardening,  and 
took  much  interest  in  introducing  European  cere- 
als and  other  vegetables  into  Peru.  While  he  was 
engaged  in  such  occupations  his  enemies  were  lay- 
The  Marquis  ^°S  plots.  His  brothcr  Fernando,  on 
fiir^mSIof  leaving  the  country,  had  warned  liim 
^*^""  against  the  "men  of  Chili,"  as  Alma- 

gro's  partisans  were  called.  But  the  marquis  did 
not  profit  by  the  warning.  A  man  of  tact,  like 
Cortes,  would  have  won  over  these  malcontents  by 
extending  to  them  judicious  favours  and  making 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  417 

them  feel  it  to  be  for  their  interest  to  eome  to  his 
support.  But  Pizarro  had  neither  the  generosity 
nor  the  sagacity  to  adopt  such  a  course,  nor  had 
he  the  prudence  of  his  brother  Fernando.  He 
treated  the  men  of  Chili  with  rudeness  and  sever- 
ity, and  still  was  careless  about  guarding  himself. 
To  such  straits,  it  is  said,  were  some  of  these  men 
reduced  through  persecutions  that  could  be  traced 
to  Pizarro,  that  a  dozen  cavaliers,  who  happened 
to  have  their  quarters  in  the  same  house,  had  only 
one  cloak  among  them,  which  they  used  to  take 
their  turns  in  wearing,  the  cloaked  man  going  out 
while  the  others  staid  at  home.^  After  a  while 
some  of  these  ill-used  men  conspired  to  murder 
Pizarro,  and  on  Sunday,  June  26,  1541,  nineteen 
of  them,  led  by  a  very  able  officer  named  Juan  de 
Kada,  boldly  made  their  way  into  the  governor's 
palace  at  Lima  just  as  he  was  finishing  his  mid-day 
dinner,  and  in  a  desperate  assault,  in  which  several 
of  the  conspirators  fell  under  Pizarro's  ABsasaination 
gword^  they  succeeded  in  killing  the  o'P"»"«>. 
sturdy  old  man,  along  with  his  half-brother  Alcan- 
tara and  other  friends.^  Almagro's  illegitimate 
half-breed  son,  commonly  called  "  Almagro  the  lad," 
was  now  proclaimed  governor  of  Peru  by  the  con- 
spirators. But  his  day  was  a  short  one.  It  hap- 
pened that  Charles  Y.  had  sent  out  a  learned 
judge,  Vaca  de  Castro,  to  advise  with  Pizarro  con- 
cerning the  government  of  his  province,  and  with 
chai*acteristic  pnidence  had  authorized  him  in  case 

^  Herrera,  dec.  vi.  lib.  viii.  cap.  vi. 

^  The  scene  is  most  g^phically  described  by  Prescott,  in  his 
Conquest  of  Peru,  bk.  iv.  chap.  v. 


418  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

of  Pizarro's  death  to  assume  the  government  him? 
self.  Castro  had  just  arrived  at  Popayan  when 
he  was  met  there  by  the  news  of  the  assassination. 
Finding  himself  sure  of  the  allegiance  of  some  of 
Pizarro's  principal  captains,  as  Benal- 
^ains  of  ^  cazar  and  Alonso  de  Alvarado,  he  pro- 
"****  claimed  himself  governor,   and   in  the 

battle  of  Chupas,  September  16,  1542,  he  defeated 
young  Almagro,  who  was  forthwith  tried  for  trea- 
son and  beheaded  in  the  great  square  at  Cuzco. 

Gonzalo  Pizarro  loyally  gave  in  his  allegiance 
to  the  new  governor,  and  retired  to  his  private 
estate  in  Charcas,  south  of  Lake  Titicaca.  The 
troubles,  however,  were  not  yet  over.  In  the  next 
chapter  we  shall  see  how  Indian  slavery  grew  up 
in  the  New  World,  and  how  through 
Laws,  and  the    the  dcvotcd  labours  of  Las  Casas  meas- 

nbellioiiof  i.         .  it*  t 

Gonzalo  urcs  wcrc  taken  for  its  aboution.      It 

Pizarro. 

was  in  1542  that  Las  Casas,  after  a 
quarter'  of  a  century  of  heroic  effort,  won  his 
decisive  victory  in  the  promulgation  of  the  edicts 
known  as  the  "  New  Laws."  These  edicts,  as  we 
shall  see,  resulted  in  the  gradual  abolition  of  In- 
dian slavery.  If  they  had  been  put  into  operation 
according  to  their  first  intent  they  would  have 
worked  an  immediate  abolition,  and  the  act  of 
confiscation  would  have  applied  to  nearly  all  the 
Spaniards  in  Peru.  The  New  Laws  therefore 
aroused  furious  opposition,  and  the  matter  was 
made  still  worse  by  the  violent  temper  of  the  new 
viceroy,  Blasco  Nufiez  Vela,  who  arrived  in  Lima 
early  in  1544,  charged  with  the  duty  of  enforcing 
them.     From  arbitrary  imprisonment  Velars  vio- 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  419 

lence  extended  to  open  and  shameless  murder,  un- 
til at  length  the  people  rose  in  rebellion,  and  Gon- 
zalo  Pizarro  came  forth  from  his  retirement  to  lead 
them.  After  a  year  of  turbulence  a  battle  was 
fought  near  Quito,  January  18,  1546,  in  which 
poor,  half-crazed  Vela  was  defeated  and  slain,  and 
Gonzalo  became  master  of  Peru. 

But  his  triumph  was  short-lived.  The  Spanish 
government  sent  out  a  wily  and  smooth-tongued 
ecclesiastic,  a  military  priest  and  member  of  the 
Council  of  the  Inquisition,  Pedro  de  la  Podro  de  ia 
Gasca,  armed  with  extensive  powers  for  ^"^ 
settling  all  the  vexed  questions.  Gasca's  most 
effective  weapon  was  the  repeal  of  those  clauses  of 
the  New  Laws  which  demanded  the  immediate 
abolition  of  slavery.  These  clauses  were  repealed, 
and  preparations  were  made  for  the  compromise 
hereafter  to  be  described.  But  for  these  prelimi- 
naries Gasca  would  probably  have  accomplished 
Uttle.  As  it  was,  his  honeyed  tongue  found  no 
difficulty  in  winning  over  the  captains  of  Pizarro's 
fleet  at  Panama.  They  had  been  sent  there  to 
watch  the  situation,  and,  if  necessary,  to  prevent 
Gasca  from  proceeding  farther,  or  to  bribe  him  to 
join  Pizarro,  or  perhaps  to  seize  him  and  carry  him 
to  Peru  as  a  prisoner.  But  this  crafty  man,  "this 
Cortes  in  priestly  garments,"  as  Sir  Arthur  Helps 
calls  him,  talked  so  well  that  the  captains  put  the 
fleet  at  his  disposal  and  conveyed  him  to  Tumbez, 
where  he  landed  June  13, 1547.  It  was  still  open 
to  Pizarro  to  maintain  that  he  had  not  taken  up 
arms  against  the  crown,  but  only  against  a  tyi*anni- 
cal  viceroy  and  in  defence  of  the  emperor's  loyal 


420  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

subjects.  It  was  rather  a  difficult  position,  bni 
Vela's  conduct  had  been  such  as  to  lend  it  strong 
support,  and  had  Gonzalo  Pizarro  been  richer  in 
mental  resources  he  might  have  carried  it  off 
successfully.  As  it  was,  he  had  ^reat  and  not  un- 
merited  confidence  in  his  own  military  ability,  «>d 
unwisely  decided  to  hold  out  against  Grasca. 

For  a  moment  events  seemed  to  favour  Pizarro. 
An  able  captain,  Diego  de  Centeno,  who  throng 
all  these  vicissitudes  had  remained  loyal  to  the 
crown,  now  captured  Cuzco  for  Gasca ;  whereupon 
a  campaign  ensued  which  endod  in  the  total  over- 
throw of  Centeno  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Huarina, 
near  Lake  Titicaca,  October  20, 1547.  This  gleam 
of  success  was  but  momentary.  Nowhere  was  the 
sword  to  be  found  that  could  prevail  against 
Gasca's  tongue.  Such  wholesale  defection  as  sud- 
denly ruined  Gonzalo  Pizarro  has  seldom  been 
Defeat  and  sccu.  When  he  cucountered  Grasca  in 
Gom^idoP^'  person,  on  the  plain  of  Sacsahoana, 
"^*  April  9,  1548,  his   soldiers  began  de- 

serting by  scores.  As  one  company  after  another 
contrived  to  slip  away  and  flee  into  the  arms  of  the 
royalists,  Gonzalo's  quaint  lieutenant,  Carvajal,  a 
weather-beaten  vetei-an  of  the  wars  in  Italy,  kept 
humming  \^dth  grim  facetiousness  the  words  of  an 
old  Spanish  ditty :  — 

Estos  mis  cabellos,  mad  re, 
Dos  &  dos  me  los  Ueva  el  ayre.^ 

^  As  Helps  renden  it,  "  These  ray  hairs,  mother,  two  by  twn 
tiie  breeze  carries  them  away."  Spanish  Conquest,  yoL  \y.  p.  238i 
The  best  description  of  Gonzalo^s  rebellion  is  the  one  giTen  by 
Helps. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  421 

^After  a  faint  pretence  of  fighting,  in  which  fifteen 

S3ien  were  killed,  Pizarro,  finding  himself  without 

si,n  army,  quietly  rode  over  to  Gasca's  camp  and 

surrendered  himself.      On  the  following   day  he 

"^ras  beheaded,  while  old  Carvajal,  in  his  eighty- 

£fth  year,  was  hanged  and  quartered,  and  this  was 

'tiie  end  of  the  sway  of  the  Pizarros  in  the  land  of 

"the  Incas.     All  except  Fernando  died  by  violence. 

The  victorious  Gasca  proved  himself  an  adept  in 

lianging  and  beheading,  but   accomplished   little 

«lse.     After  his   bloody  assizes   he   returned  to 

Spain  in  1550,  and  was  rewarded  with  a  bishopric. 

In  1553  there  was  a  brief  epilogue  of  rebellion  in 

3*eru,  under  the  lead  of  Hernandez   Giron,  who 

^was  beheaded  in  1554. 

A  new  era  began  under  the  able  administra- 
lion  of  Andrea  Hurtado  de  Mendoza,  Marquis  of 
CaSete,  who  came  out  in  1556.  The  con-  Airirai  of 
quest  of  Peru  may  with  his  viceroyalty  ^®**^®'»- 
be  pronounced  complete  ;  in  other  words,  not  only 
liad  the  Indians  been  conquered,  but  their  unruly 
conquerors  were  at  last  overcome,  and  into  the 
eonntiy,  thus  reduced  to  order,  more  than  8,000 
Spaniards  had  come  to  stay. 

Considering  the  story  of  the  conquest  of  Peru 
sis  a  whole,  we  cannot  but  be  struck  with  the 
slightness  of  the  resistance  made  by  the  people. 
Xxcept  for  the  spirited  siege  of  Cuzco  by  the  Inca 
Idanco,  there  was  no  resistance  worthy  of  the  name. 
TThe  conqnerors  turned  temples  into  churches  and 
enslaved  the  people,  and  yet  in  the  midst  of  this 
large  population  a  handful  of  Spaniards  were  able 


422  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

to  squabble  among  themselves  and  IdU  each  otiher 
with  as  little  concern  as  if  they  had  been 

Borne  reatons      .  -o    •  i       .1        .  i  • 

why  the  con-    m  an  empty  country.     Jlividently  this 
ewiiy  occom-    socictv  in  which  £:ovemmental  control 

Dliflhed. 

had  been  so  far  developed  at  the  ex- 
pense of  individualism  was  a  society  where  it  did 
not  make  much  difference  to  the  people  what  master 
they  served.  To  conquer  such  a  country  it  was 
only  necessary  to  get  control  of  the  machinery  of 
administration.  I  think  it  may  have  been  a  per- 
ception of  this  state  of  things  that  encouraged 
Atahualpa  to  make  his  attempt  to  overthrow  the 
legitimate  line  of  Incas.  He  doubtless  hoped, 
with  the  aid  of  the  men  of  Quito  and  other  imper- 
fectly conquered  provinces,  to  get  control  of  Cuzoo 
and  the  system  of  military  posts  and  roads  radiat- 
ing therefrom,  believing  that  thus  he  could  main- 
tain himself  in  power  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  his 
birth  disqualified  him  for  the  position  of  supreme 
Inca.  His  success  would  have  been  a  revolution ; 
and  it  is  instructive  to  see  him  trying  to  provide 
against  the  opposition  of  the  Inca  caste  by  keep- 
ing the  genuine  Inca  a  captive  in  his  hands  in- 
stead of  putting  him  to  death.  By  thus  control- 
ling all  the  machinery  of  government,  the  captive 
Inca  included,  Atahualpa  evidently  had  no  occa- 
sion to  fear  anything  like  popular  insurrection. 
Whether  his  scheme  would  have  succeeded  must, 
of  course,  remain  doubtful;  but  it  is  extremely 
curious  to  see  the  Spaniards  at  the  critical  moment 
step  in  and  beat  him  at  his  own  game,  without 
more  than  half  understanding  what  they  were  do- 
ing.    In  capturing  Atahualpa  there  is  no  doubt 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  428 

that  Pizarro  took  his  cue  from  Cortes,  but  between 
ilie  seizure  of  Atahualpa  and  that  of  Montezuma 
the  points  of  difference  were  more  important  than 
the  points  of  likeness.  It  is  customary  to  speak 
of  Atahualpa  as  ^^  the  last  Inca,"  and  I  suppose 
the  fact  is  commonly  forgotten  that  he  was  really 
only  governor  of  Quito,  a  >dctorious.  usui^per  who 
had  just  begun  to  call  himself  the  Inca,  but  had 
not  been  formally  invested  with  that  supreme  dig- 
nity. Garcilasso  expressly  declares  that  the  peo- 
ple —  by  whom  he  means  the  members  of  his  own 
Inca  caste  and  their  loyal  dependents  —  were  grate- 
ful to  the  white  man  for  overthrowing  the  usurper 
who  had  first  captured  and  finally  murdered  their 
true  Inca  Huascar.  "  They  said  that  the  Span- 
iards had  put  the  tyrant  to  death  as  a  punishment 
and  to  avenge  the  Incas ;  and  that  the  god  Yira- 
cocha,  the  father  of  the  Spaniards,  had  ordered 
them  to  do  it.  This  is  the  reason  they  called 
the  first  Spaniards  by  the  name  of  Yiracocha, 
aud  believing  they  were  sons  of  their  god,  they  re- 
spected them  so  much  that  they  almost  worshipped 
them,  and  scarcely  made  any  resistance  to  the  con- 
quest." ^ 

This  explanation,  from  so  high  an  authority  as 
Grarcilasso  Inca,  shows  us  clearly  why  resistance  to 
the  Spaniards  did  not  fairly  begin  until  three 
years  after  the  seizure  of  Atahualpa ;  and  then, 
when  the  legitimate  Inca  Manco  headed  the  at- 
tack upon  the  Spaniards,  not  only  had  their  nimi- 
bers  greatly  increased,  but  they  had  already  se- 
cured control  of  a  great  part  of  the  governmental 

^  Qaicilaaso,  pt  i.  lib.  t.  cap.  zzi.,  Markham's  translatioB. 


424  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

machinery,  and  to  the  mass  of  the  people  a  mere 
change  of  masters  was  not  a  matter  of  vital  im* 
portance. 

After  the  decisive  defeat  of  Manco  Capao  by 
Orgo&ez  in  1537,  that  Inca  retired  to  an  almost 
inaccessible  fastness  in  the  great  fork  of  the  Andes 
where  the  river  Marafion  takes  its  rise,  and  there 
he  kept  up  a  kind  of  court.  From  that  point  he 
now  and  then  made  a  sudden  descent  and  attacked 
Fkteofthe  ^^^  Spaniards,  but  accomplished  little 
Inca  Manca     ^j.  nothing.    His  end  was  a  strange  one, 

with  a  touch  of  the  comical.  When  Juan  de 
Bada  and  his  party  were  crossing  the  great  square 
at  Lima,  on  their  way  to  assassinate  the  MaTquis 
Pizarro,  one  of  tlie  company,  a  certain  Gomez 
Perez,  was  observed  to  step  out  of  the  way  to 
avoid  wetting  his  shoes  in  a  puddle.  "  Wliat !  " 
cried  the  fierce  Kada,  "  here  are  we  about  to  wade 
up  to  our  knees  in  blood,  and  you  are  afraid  of  a 
pool  of  water !  Go  home,  you  siUy  fop,  you  are 
no  fit  company  for  the  like  of  us ! "  After  the 
overthrow  of  young  Almagro  at  Chupas,  this 
Gomez  Perez,  with  others  of  that  faction,  took 
refuge  at  the  Inca's  little  court  in  the  moun- 
tains, where  they  were  hospitably  received.  On 
the  arrival  of  Blasco  Nunez  Vela  in  1544  there 
were  negotiations  between  that  viceroy  and  the 
Inca,  which  resulted  in  Manco's  giving  in  his  alle- 
giance to  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  Gomez  Perez 
served  as  the  Inca's  messenger  in  these  negotia- 
tions. He  was  an  ill-mannered  fellow,  who  took 
no  pains  to  veil  liis  contempt  for  ''  coloured  men," 
and  he  was  often  rude  to  the  Inca,  who  usually 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.  425 

received  his  coarse  words  with  quiet  dignity.  But 
one  day,  as  the  two  were  playing  at  ninepins  some 
dispute  arose,  and  the  Spaniard  became  so  abusive 
that  Manco  gave  him  a  push,  exclaiming,  ^'60 
away,  you  forget  with  whom  you  are  speaking." 
Without  another  word  Gomez,  who  had  one  of 
the  big  balls  in  his  hand,  hurled  it  at  the  Inca's 
head  and  killed  him  on  the  spot.^  At  the  sight  of 
this  outrage  the  Indians  who  were  present,  watch- 
ing the  game,  fell  upon  Gomez  and  slew  him.  The 
other  Spaniards  fled  to  their  quarters,  but  the  en- 
raged Indians  set  fire  to  the  building,  and  butch- 
ered them  all  as  fast  as  they  were  driveft  out  by 
the  flames.  Thus  ignominiously  perished  the 
wretched  remnant  of  the  Almagro  faction. 

Manco  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Sayri  Tupac, 
who  for  fourteen  years  continued  to  hold  his  court 
among  the  mountains.  On  the  arrival  of  the  Mar- 
quis of  Cafiete,  negotiations  were  opened  with  this 
Inca,  who  consented  to  become  a  pen-  y^^  of  the 
sioner  of  the  Spaniards.  The  vaUey  of  ^^^^y^y- 
Yucay  was  given  him,  and  there  he  lived  from 
1558  until  his  death  in  1560.  His  brother  and 
successor,  Titu  Cusi  Yupanqui,  returned  to  Man- 
eo's  mountain  lair,  and  held  court  there  for  eleven 
years,  resuming  his  practical  independence.  When 

^  Garoilaaso,  Comentarios  reahs,  pt.  ii.  lib.  iv.  cap.  vii.  Mr. 
Prescott's  account  of  this  affair  {Conquest  of  Peru,  bk.  iv.  chap, 
iii.)  is  slightly  misleading.  Mr.  Markham  (in  Winsor,  Narr.  and 
Crit,  Hist.,  voL  ii.  p.  546)  makes  a  strange  mistake  in  the  date, 
and  the  context  shows  that  it  is  not  a  misprint ;  he  says  that 
Manco  **  met  his  death  in  1553,  after  a  disastrous  reig^  of  twenty 
yean.*'  Manco  was  crowned  in  1533,  and  his  death  occurred  in 
1644,  and  in  the  eleventh  year  of  his  reign. 


426  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

the  viceroy  Francisco  de  Toledo  arrived,  in  1671, 
lie  determined  to  put  a  stop  to  this  sort  of  thing, 
and  events  soon  furnished  him  with  a  pretext.  A 
missionary  friar  having  gone  to  visit  Titu  Ciud  at 
his  court,  the  Inca  suddenly  fell  sick  and  died, 
whereupon  the  friar  was  seized  and  put  to  death 
for  sorcery.  Titu  Cusi  was  succeeded  by  his  bro- 
ther Tupac  Amaru,  a  mere  lad.  Now  the  viceroy 
Toledo  sent  an  army  into  the  mountains,  which 
broke  up  the  Inca's  court,  slew  many  chieftains, 
and  captured  the  Inca  Tupac  Amaru.  The  unfor- 
tunate youth  was  taken  to  Cuzco,  and  beheaded  in 
revenge  for  the  friar's  death,  and  this  was  the  end 
of  the  Inca  dynasty. 


CHAPTER  XL 

LAS  CABAS. 

It  is  curious  to  reflect  ttat  with  the  first  arrival 
of  civilized  Europeans  in  this  New  World  there 
should  have  come  that  plague  of  slavery  ^he  plague  of 
which  was  so  long  to  pollute  and  curse  •^^•'y- 
it,  and  from  the  complicated  effects  of  which  we 
shall  not  for  long  years  yet  succeed  in  fully  re- 
covering. Nor  is  it  less  curious  to  reflect  how  the 
fates  of  the  continents  America  and  Africa,  with 
their  red  men  and  black  men,  became  linked  to- 
gether, from  the  early  time  when  Prince  Henry 
of  Portugal  was  making  those  exploring  expedi- 
tions that  prepared  the  way  for  the  great  discovery 
of  Columbus.  It  was  those  expeditions  upon  the 
African  coast  that  introduced  slavery  into  the 
world  in  what  we  may  distinguish  as  its  modem 
form.  For  in  the  history  of  slavery  there  have 
been  two  quite  distinct  periods.  The  ancient 
slave  was  the  prisoner  captured  in  war,  the  at^/Aa- 
Xa)T09,  in  the  picturesque  phrase  of  the  Greeks, 
which  has  been  somewhat  freely  rendered  as 
"  fruit  of  the  spear."  We  have  observed  that  in 
the  lower  stage  of  barbarism  captives  Ancient  ai»- 
are  tortured  to  death;  in  the  middle  ^^^' 
stage  they  are  sacrificed  to  the  gods,  but  as  agri- 
culture develops  and  society  becomes  settled  they 


428  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA, 

are  more  and  more  used  as  slaves ;  and  in  the 
upp'jr  stage  of  barbarism  a  complete  system  of 
slave-labour  is  developed.  Doubtless  this  coarse 
of  things  was  attended  with  some  advantages  in 
its  day.  Ancient  slavery  was  a  help  in  the  coales- 
cence of  tribes  into  nations,  and  to  enslave  the 
captive  was  not  quite  so  cruel  as  to  roast  him 
alive  or  cut  him  to  pieces.  With  the  advance  of 
civilization  ancient  slavery  slowly  grew  milder  in 
type.  The  slaves  of  a  Greek  or  a  Roman  were 
white  men  like  himself,  so  that  the  element  of  race 
antipathy  was  absent.  By  slow  degrees  European 
slaves  acquired  customary  rights  and  privileges 
and  often  became  freemen.^      In  general,  after 

^  For  a  brief  charactorizAtion  of  Roman  slavery  see  GibbG3*s 
Decline  and  Fall^  chap,  il.,  with  Guizot^s  and  Milman^s  notes. 
The  cruelties  inflicted  upon  slaves  in  the  days  of  the  Roman 
republic  vrere  frightful,  but  in  the  general  and  remarkable  im- 
provement of  Roman  law  in  point  of  huma:iity  nnder  the  em- 
perors,  the  condition  of  the  slaves  was  notably  ameliorated.  One 
among  countless  testimonies  to  the  mildness  of  slavery  in  the 
fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era  is  furnished  by  an  interesting 
conversatio  1  which  took  place  in  the  year  448  between  the  Ri>> 
man  historian  Priscus  and  a  certain  versatile  Greek  who  had  be- 
come enamoured  of  wild  life  and  was  engaged  in  the  service  of 
the  terrible  Attila.  Priscus  says  the  Romans  treat  their  slaves 
much  more  kindly  than  the  Hunnish  king  treats  the  free  war- 
riors that  follow  his  banner  and  divide  the  spoils  of  war.  They 
deal  with  them  as  friends  or  brothers,  teach  them  the  Scriptures, 
nurse  them  tenderly  in  sickness,  and  are  not  allowed  to  inffiiet 
upon  them  cruel  punishment;  moreover,  it  is  a  common  and 
highly  esteemed  practice  to  give  them  freedom  either  by  last  will 
and  testament,  or  by  deed  during  the  master's  lifetime.  See 
Bnry's  Later  Boman  Empire^  vol.  i.  p.  219.  On  the  general  sub- 
ject, see  Wallon,  Histoire  de  Vesdavage  dan*  VantiquiU^  Paris, 
1847,  3  vols. ;  Denis,  Histoire  des  theories  et  de*  idie*  moralm 
dan*  VantiquiU,  Paris,  1856,  tom.  ii.  pp.  55-218;  Friedlandei^ 
JIfcRirs  romaine*  du  regne  d'Auguste  ii  la  fin  de*  Antonin*^  Paxi% 


LAS  CA8A8.  429 

making  all  due  allowances,  tlie  face  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  was  resolutely  set  against  slavery, 
so  that  later  wars  and  conquests  created  only 
such  modified  forms  of  it  as  serfdom  and  villen- 
age.  By  the  fifteenth  century  ancient  slavery  was 
dead  in  England,  and  moribund  on  the  continent 
of  Europe,  when  all  at  once  and  most  unexpect- 
edly modem  slavery  came  into  exist-  Modem  »iifc. 
euce.  In  this  modem  system  slavery  ^•^^ 
became  an  extensive  branch  of  commerce.  Men 
of  weaker  race,  despised  as  heathen  with  red  or 
black  skins,  were  hunted  and  caught  by  thousands, 
and  sold  in  places  where  there  was  a  demand  for 
cheap  labour.  There  were  features  in  this  mod- 
em system  as  hideous  as  the  worst  features  of  the 
ancient  system.  And  curiously  enough,  just  as 
the  progress  of  discovery  in  Africa  had  originated 
this  wholesale  traffic  in  men,  the  discovery  of 
America  opened  up  an  immense  field  where  there 
was  soon  to  be  a  great  and  growing  demand  for 
cheap  labour. 

In  1441  Prince  Henry's  master  of  the  robes, 
Antonio  Goncjalvez,  in  a  voyage  along  the  Morocco 
coast,  captured  a  few  Moors  and  carried  them  to 
Portuffal.^     The  next  year  these  Moors 

_^  Itsbeginninga. 

begged  Gon^alvez  to  take  them  back  to 
Morocco,  and  offered  him  a  ransom  in  the  shape  of 
negro  slaves.     On  hearing  of  this,  Frince  Henry 
told  Gon^alvez  by  all  means  to  exchange  the  Moors 
for  negroes,   because  the  former  were   obstinate 

1805,  torn.  L  pp.  288-2(^ ;  Ozanam,  History  of  Civilization  in  the 
Fifth  Century,  London,  1868,  vol.  ii.  pp.  30-43. 
^  See  above,  toL  L  p.  323. 


fto  iiit    i/ifOr.'yKrr    ITT   iiffgffTfTIL, 


'  ;4WU*v  •     ^ v»%nr>U*»<x  iif»r*niTuni^ir  Huiefll^.  iHt  Ine  his 

'VrV'^^v  <Mf-  lift^vy  Hsvtrnvf,  Tliiii'  nranHm^tdmu  in  the 
^,«]^  iI:^Z  «imit»  rt\  iuv^m  li«»m.  Ai^  beghmfng  of 
j\*f^»A^f  'M-  iKr  .«i^}M*iiilIy'  muftKca  focm.  After 
f^  AM4^V  ^H^t^^'^'^t^  <^^  iu^G;rrM»  wi»e  bcooglit  to 
t^\,^A>.  *A/l  f'ntu**  ffcnrj,  m  t^cei^iag  his  royil 
^^Pli,.  ^4  dW^  (ifin^^AMrU  of  tiHMe  expeditiooa,  ««s 
k*f*f^h  U*  finfe^  4iiav>9%  ^^Iimjj  with  buffalo  hides  and 

h  y[iH\A^^t'-  <l«t«#'ri|ition  of  the  airiTil  <rf  a 
Y<^^^^  t»f   %Uti9h   |MHir  (rrfatures«  brought   by 
i}HVitUi  ill  tioi  yi^ttr  1444,  bi  {n^'^i^  ^7  ^^i 
tiui  kiiKtlu^artiKl    Porttipie^  chronicler  J 
^^'i  hii  otUisv  (Uy,**  \w  mnyi^  **  which  wa^  die  eighth 
i>lr  AugUk»t,  vciy  t^nrly  iu  the  moraing:  by  reason 

4*uriU4'»  u*i  ^*^  ^^^  ^*'^*^  ^''^  mariners  beg^n  to  bring 
i«Uiia.  ^^  their  vcHseLs^  and  ...  to  dmw  forth 

th4Mi>  oaptivcii  .  .  .  :  wbonu  placed  together  on 
that  |>laiii^  it  WHH  a  luiirvelloim  sight  to  beholds  for 
iUiiougMt  Uieui  thci'e  were  .some  of  a  reafionaUe 
dugroo  of  whiteiieKs^  haudsoiue  and  well  made; 
othoi'ri  U;hh  white,  rt^seiubliug  leopanls  in  their 
colour ;  otiuuK  ;iH  black  ivs^  Ethiopians,  and  so  ill- 
fovuicd,  :iH  wt^ll  ill  tht^ir  faces  m  in  thoir  bodies, 
that  it  stviucJ  to  the  l)eholdei*s  as  if  they  saw  the 
focius  of  :\,  lowf  1'  world.  I^ut  wlmc  iieart  was  thaU 
Iww  liai'd  .soever,  wliich  was  Jiot  pierced  with  sorrow, 

'  To  doubt  tUti  tiiiKMU'Uy  of  Hi«^  an  Atgmmmui  »  to 
tiUuul  IVuMtt  lUiiCjf  «uftd  tiM  a^  iu  wiiMk  hi$  litwik 


LAS  CASAS.  431 

seeing  that  company:  for  some  had  simken  cheeks, 
and  their  faces  bathed  in  tears,  looking  at  each 
other ;  others  were  groaning  very  dolorously,  look- 
ing at  the  heights  of  the  heavens  .  .  .  and  crying 
out  loudly,  as  if  asking  succour  from  the  Father 
of  natui*e ;  others  struck  their  faces  with  their 
hands,  throwing  themselves  on  the  earth  •;  others 
made  their  lamentations  in  songs,  according  to 
the  customs  of  their  country,  which,  although  we 
could  not  understand  their  language,  we  saw  corre- 
sponded well  to  the  height  of  their  sorrow.  But 
now  .  .  .  came  those  who  had  the  charge  of  the 
distribution,  and  they  began  to  put  them  apart 
one  from  the  other,  in  order  to  equalize  the  por- 
tions ;  wherefore  it  was  necessary  to  part  children 
and  parents,  husbands  and  wives,  and  brethren 
from  each  other.  Neither  in  the  partition  of 
friends  and  relations  was  any  law  kept,  only  each 
fell  where  the  lot  took  him.  .  .  .  And  while  they 
were  placing  in  one  part  the  children  that  saw 
their  parents  in  another,  the  children  sprang  up 
perseveringly  and  fled  unto  them;  the  mothers 
enclosed  their  children  in  their  arms  and  threw 
themselves  with  them  upon  the  ground,  receiving 
wounds  with  little  pity  for  their  own  flesh,  so  that 
their  oflfspring  might  not  be  torn  from  them !  And 
80,  with  labour  and  difficidty,  they  concluded  the 
partition,  for,  besides  the  trouble  they  had  with 
the  captives,  the  plain  was  full  of  people,  as  well 
of  the  town  as  of  the  villages  and  neighbourhood 
around,  who  on  that  day  gave  rest  to  their  hands 
the  mainstay  of  their  livelihood,  only  to  see  this 
novelty."  ^ 

^  I  quote  from  the  version  given  by  Sir  Arthur  Helps,  in  his 


4S2  THE  DISCOVEBT  OF  AMERRJA. 

There  we  ha«^  the  infenud  pietiirev  tbtj  modi 
as  it  was  to  be  seen  four  hundred  rears  later  in 
our  own  conntrv,  as  so  manr  of  ns  can   still  re- 

m  m 

member.     Bat  for  the  diseoTerr  of  America  this 

ml 

traffic  in  human  beings  would  doubtless  have  been 
greatly  limited  in  extent  and  duration.  The  con- 
ditions of  European  agriculture  and  mining  were 
not  such  as  to  create  a  market  for  them.  Natural 
economic  laws  would  have  prevented  slavery  from 
thriving  in  Europe,  as  they  prevented  it  in  New 
England.  But  in  the  subtropical  regions  of  the 
New  World  slavery  grew  up  quickly  and  sturdily, 
as  foul  weeds  sprout  in  a  congenial  soiL  At  first 
it  was  a  slavery  of  red  men,  and  Columbus  him- 
self played  an  important  part  in  establishing  it 
When  Columbus  came  to  Hispaniola  on  his  second 
voyage,  with  17  ships  and  1,500  followers,  he  found 
Beginnings  of  *'^®  relations  between  red  men  and  white 
und<r"coium?  ^^^  already  hostile,  and  in  order  to 
^"*  get  food  for  so  many  Spaniards,  forag- 

ing expeditions    were    undertaken,   which    made 

Spanish  Conquest,  vol.  i.  pp.  37-39,  since  it  would  be  impossible 
to  improve  upon  it.  The  original  text  is  in  Azurara,  CAroniea 
do  descohrimento  e  conquista  de  Guinf,  Paris,  1841,  pp.  132-134. 
This  chronicle  vas  completed  in  1453.  Azurara  goes  on  to  g^ve 
another  side  to  tlie  picture,  for  being  much  interested  in  the  poor 
oreaturos  he  ma<le  careful  inquiries  and  found  that  in  general 
they  were  treated  with  marked  kindness.  They  became  Chris- 
tians, and  were  taught  trades  or  engaged  in  domestio  service ; 
thi*y  were  also  allowed  to  acquire  property  and  were  often  set 
free.  Tliis,  however,  was  in  the  early  days  of  modem  slavery 
and  in  the  period  of  Prince  Henry  and  his  ideas.  At  a  lator  date, 
when  Portuguese  cruisers  caught  negroes  by  the  hundred  and 
sold  them  at  Seville,  whence  they  were  shipped  to  Hispaniola  to 
work  in  the  mines,  there  was  very  little  to  relieve  the  blackness 
of  Um  transaction. 


LAS  CASAS^  438 

matters  worse.  This  state  of  things  led  Colum- 
bus to  devise  a  notable  expedient.  In  some  of 
the  neighbouring  islands  lived  the  voracious  Ca- 
ribs.  In  fleets  of  canoes  they  woidd  swoop  upon 
the  coasts  of  Hispaniola,  capture  men  and  women 
by  the  score,  and  carry  them  oflf  to  be  cooked 
and  eaten.  Now  Columbus  wished  to  win  the 
friendship  of  the  Indians  about  him  by  defend- 
ing them  against  these  enemies,  and  so  he  made 
raids  against  the  Caribs,  took  some  of  them  cap- 
tive, and  sent  them  as  slaves  to  Spain,  to  be 
taught  Spanish  and  converted  to  Christianity,  so 
that  they  might  come  back  to  the  islands  as  in- 
terpreters, and  thus  be  useful  aids  in  missionary 
work.  It  was  reaUy,  said  Columbus,  a  kindness 
to  these  cannibals  to  enslave  them  and  send  them 
where  they  could  be  baptized  and  rescued  from 
everlasting  perdition ;  and  then  again  they  could 
be  received  in  payment  for  the  cargoes  of  cattle, 
seeds,  wine,  and  other  provisions  which  must  be 
sent  from  Spain  for  the  support  of  the  colony*. 
Thus  quaintly  did  the  great  discoverer,  like  so 
many  other  good  men  before  and  since,  mingle 
considerations  of  religion  with  those  of  domestic 
economy.  It  is  apt  to  prove  an  unwholesome 
mixture.  Columbus  proposed  such  an  arrange- 
ment to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  and  it  is  to  their 
credit  that,  straitened  as  they  were  for  money, 
they  for  some  time  refused  to  accept  it. 

Slavery,  however,  sprang  up  in  Hispaniola  be- 
fore  any  one  could  have  fully  realized  the  mean- 
ing of  what  was  going  on.  As  the  Indians  were 
unfriendly  and  food  must  be  had,  while  foraging 


484  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

expeditions  were  apt  to  end  in  plunder  and  blood- 
shed, Columbus  tried  to  regulate  matters  by  pro* 
hibiting  such  expeditions  and  in  lieu  thereof  im- 
posing: a  lisfht  tribute  or  tax  upon  the 
entire  population  of  Hispaniola  above 
fourteen  years  of  age.  As  this  population  was 
dense,  a  little  from  each  person  meant  a  good 
deal  in  the  lump.  The  tribute  might  be  a  small 
piece  of  gold  or  of  cotton,  and  was  to  be  paid  four 
times  a  year.  Every  time  that  an  Indian  paid 
this  tax,  a  small  brass  token  duly  stamped  was  to 
be  given  him  to  hang  about  his  neck  as  a  voucher. 
If  there  were  Indians  who  felt  unable  to  pay  the 
tribute,  they  might  as  an  alternative  render  a 
certain  amount  of  jjersonal  service  in  helping  to 
plant  seeds  or  tend  cattle  for  the  Spaniards. 

No  doubt  these  regulations  were  well  meant,  and 
if  the  two  races  had  been  more  evenly  matched, 
perhaps  they  might  not  so  speedily  have  developed 
into  tjrranny.  As  it  was,  they  were  like  ndes  for 
regulating  the  depredations  of  wolves  upon  sheep. 
Two  years  had  not  elapsed  before  the  alternative 
of  personal  service  was  demanded  from  whole  vil- 
lages of  Indians  at  once.  By  1499  the  island  had 
ReparH-  bcgun  to  bc  divided  into  repartimientoSy 
mietuoi.  Qj^  shares.     One  or  more  villages  would 

be  ordered,  under  the  direction  of  their  native 
chiefs,  to  till  the  soil  for  the  benefit  of  some  speci- 
fied Spaniard  or  partnership  of  Spaniards;  and 
such  a  village  or  villages  constituted  the  reparti- 
miento  of  the  person  or  persons  to  whom  it  was 
assigned.  This  arrangement  put  the  Indians  into 
a  state  somewhat  resembling  that  of  feudal  villen- 


LAS  CASAS.  435 

age ;  and  this  was  as  far  as  things  had  gone  when 
the  administration' of  Columbus  came  abruptly  to 
an  end. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  1502  the  Spanish 
sovereigns  sent  to  Hispaniola  a  governor  selected 
with  especial  care,  a  knight  of  the  reli- 
gious order  of  Alcantara,  named  Nico-  treatment  o! 
las  de  Ovando.  He  was  a  small,  fair- 
haired  man  of  mild  and  courteous  manners,  and 
had  an  excellent  reputation  for  ability  and  in- 
tegrity. We  are  assured  on  the  most  unimpeach- 
able authority  that  he  was  a  good  governor  for 
white  men.  As  to  what  was  most  needed  in  that 
turbulent  colony,  he  was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  and 
had  his  own  summary  way  of  dealing  with  insubor- 
dinate characters.  When  he  wished  to  dispose  of 
some  such  incipient  Roldan  he  would  choose  a 
time  to  invite  him  to  dinner,  and  then,  after  some 
polite  and  interested,  talk,  whereby  the  guest  was 
apt  fo  feel  highly  flattered,  Ovando  woidd  all  at 
once  point  down  to  the  harbour  and  blandly  in- 
quire, "  In  which  of  those  ships,  now  ready  to 
weigh  anchor,  would  you, like  to  go  back  to 
Spain?"  Then  the  dumbfoundered  man  would 
stanuner,  "  My  Lord,  my  Lord,"  and  would  per- 
haps plead  that  he  had  not  money  enough  to  pay 
his  passage.  "  Pray  do  not  let  that  trouble  you," 
said  this  well-bred  little  governor,  "  it  shall  be  my 
care  to  provide  for  that."  And  so  without  further 
ceremony  the  guest  was  escorted  straight  from  din- 
ner-table to  ship.^ 

But  this  mild-spoken  Ovando  was  capable   of 

1  Las  Casas,  mstoria  de  las  Indiasy  torn.  iiL  p.  204. 


486  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

strange  deeds,  and  the  seven  years  of  his  adminis- 
tration in  Hispaniola  were  so  full  of  horror  that  I 
never  can  read  his  name  without  a  shudder.  His 
methods  with  Indians  may  be  illustrated  by  his 
treatment  of  Anacaona,  wife  of  that  chieftain  Ca- 
onabo  who  had  been  sent  to  Spain.^  Ovando 
heard  that  the  tribe,  in  which  this  woman  exer- 
cised great  authority,  was  meditating  another  at- 
tack upon  the  Spaniards,  and  he  believed 
treatment  of     that  au  oimcc  of  prevention  was  worth 

red  men. 

a  pound  of  cure.  His  seat  of  govern- 
ment was  at  the  town  of  San  Domingo,  and  Ana- 
caona's  territory  at  Xaragua  was  200  miles  distant. 
Ovando  started  at  once  with  300  foot  soldiers  and 
70  horse.  On  reaching  Xaragua  he  was  received 
in  a  friendly  manner  by  the  Indians,  who  probably 
had  no  wish  to  offend  so  strong  a  force.  Grames 
were  played,  and  Ovando  proposed  to  show  the 
Indians  a  tournament,  at  which  they  were  much 
pleased,  as  their  intense  fear  of  the  horse  was  be- 
ginning to  wear  off.  All  the  chieftains  of  the 
neighbourhood  were  invited  to  assemble  in  a  large 
wooden  house,  while  O^cando  explained  to  them  the 
nature  of  the  tournament  that  was  about  to  take 
place.  Meanwhile  the  Spanish  soldiers  surrounded 
the  house.  Ovando  wore  upon  his  breast  the  bridge 
of  his  order,  a  small  image  of  God  the  Father,^  and 
as  he  stood  talking  with  the  chiefs,  when  he  knew 
the  preparations  to  be  complete,  he  raised  his  hand 
and  touched  the  image.     At  this  concerted  signal 

^  See  above,  vol.  i.  p.  482. 

^  "Un  Dios  Padre  en  abito  bianco."    Marquez,  Tcsoro  mUUai 
de  CavcdlerfOy  p.  24,  apud  Helps,  vol.  i.  p.  207. 


LAS  CASAS.  487 

the  soldiers  rushed  in  and  seized  the  chiefs,  and 
bound  them  hand  and  foot.  Then  they  went  out 
and  set  fire  to  the  house,  and  the  chiefs  were  all 
burnt  alive.  Anacaona  was  hanged  to  a  tree,  sev- 
eral hundred  Indians  were  put  to  the  sword, 
and  their  country  was  laid  waste.  Ovando  then 
founded  a  town  in  Xaragua,  and  called  it  the  City 
of  Peace,  and  gave  it  a  seal  on  which  was  a  dove 
with  an  olive-branch.^ 

But  this  was  nothing  to  what  happened  in 
Ovando's  time.  There  were  such  atrocities  as 
would  seem  incredible  were  they  not  recoimted  by 
a  most  intelligent  and  faithful  witness  who  saw 
with  his  own  eyes  many  of  the  things  of  which  he 
tells  us.  Bartolom^  de  Las  Casas  was  bom  in 
Seville  in  1474.^    His  family,  one  of  the  noblest 

« 

^  Ad  account  of  the  affair  is  g^ven  in  Herrera,  dec  i.  lib.  ▼!. 
cap.  iv.,  and  with  a  pictorial  illustration  in  Las  Casas,  Indiarum 
devastationU  et  excidii  narraiio^  Heidelberg,  1664,  p.  11.  Herrera 
obserres  that  the  queen  did  not  approve  of  Ovando^s  proceeding's, 
and  expressed  an  intention  of  investigating  the  affair,  but  the  in- 
ve8t^;ation  was  never  made.  Very  likely  Ovando's  patron  Fon- 
seca,  who  cynically  avowed  that  he  cared  not  how  many  Indians 
perished,  may  have  contrived  to  prevent  it. 

^  The  life  of  Las  Casas  is  beautifully  and  faithfully  told  by  Sir 
Arthur  Helps,  in  his  History  of  the  Spanish  Conquest  in  America, 
Loudon,  1855-61,  in  4  vols.,  a  book  which  it  does  one's  soul  g^ood 
to  read.  The  most  recent  and  elaborate  biography  is  by  Don 
Antonio  Fabi^,  Vida  y  escritos  de  Fray  Bartolomi  de  L<u  Casas, 
Madrid,  1879,  in  2  vols.  See  also  Llorente,  Vie  de  Leu  Casas, 
prefixed  to  his  (Euvres  de  Las  Casas^  Paris,  1822,  tom.  L  pp.  ix.~ 
cx. ;  Remesal,  Historia  de  Chyapa  y  de  Guatemalay  Madrid,  1619. 
References  may  also  be  found  in  Oviedo,  Gomara,  Herrera,  Tor- 
quemada,  and  other  historians.  One  should  above  all  read  the 
works  of  Las  Casas  himself,  concerning  which  much  information 
may  be  obtained  from  Sabin's  List  of  the  Printed  Editions  of  the 
Works  of  Fray  BartholonU  de  Las  Casas,  Bishop  of  Chiapa,  NeV 


488  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA, 

in  Spain,  was  of  French  origin,  descended  fiom 
the  viscounts   of  Limoges.^     They  were    already 

in  Spain  before  the  thirteenth  century, 
f amuy  of  lm    and  played  a  distinguished  part  in  the 

conquest  of  Seville  from  the  Moors  by 
Ferdinand  III.  of  Castile,  in  1252.  From  that 
time  forward,  members  of  the  family  were  to  be 
found  in  positions  of  trust,  and  among  their  marked 
traits  of  character  were  invincible  courage  and 
spotless  integrity.  By  birth  and  training  Bar- 
tholomew was  an  aristocrat  to  the  very  tips  of  his 
fingers.  For  the  earlier  part  of  his  life  dates  can 
hardly  be  assigned,  but  the  news  of  the  triumphant 
return  of  Columbus  from  his  first  voyage  across 
the  Sea  of  Darkness  may  probably  have  found 
him  at  the  imiversity  of  Salamanca,  where  for  sev- 
eral years  he  studied  philosophy,  theology,  and 
jurisprudence,  and  obtained  a  licentiate's  degree. 
His  father,  Don  Francisco  de  Las  Casas,  accom- 
panied Columbus  on  the  second  voyage,  and  re- 
York,  1870.  The  book  contains  also  a  notice  of  the  MSS.  —  The 
Life  of  Las  Casas,  by  Sir  Arthur  Helps,  London,  1868,  conaistB  of 
passages  extracted  from  his  larger  work,  and  suffers  serionsly 
from  the  removal  of  the  context. 

^  Argote,  Nobleza  de  Andalucia,  fol.  210.  According  to  Llorente 
(Vie  de  Las  Casas,  p.  xcviii.)  a  branch  of  the  Seyille  family  re- 
turned to  France.  Don  Carlos  de  Las  Casas  was  one  of  the  grraa- 
dees  who  accompanied  Blanche  of  Castile  when  she  went  to 
France  in  the  year  1200,  to  marry  the  prince,  afterward  Louis 
VIII.  From  this  nobleman  was  descended  Napoleon^s  faithful 
chamberlain  the  Marquis  de  Las  Cases.  The  migration  of  the 
French  family  to  Spain  probably  antedated  the  custom  of  giving 
surnames,  which  was  g^wing  up  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  cen- 
turies. The  name  Las  Casas  was  of  course  acquired  in  Spain, 
and  afterward  the  branch  of  the  family  which  had  retamed  tt 
France  changed  the  spelling  to  Las  Cases. 


LAS  CA8A8.  489 

turned  to  Seville  in  1497  with  a  young  Indian 
slave  whom  Columbus  had  given  him.  It  was  on 
this  occasion  that  Isabella  asked,  with  some  in- 
dignation, "  Who  has  empowered  my  admiral  thus 
to  dispose  of  my  subjects  ?  "  The  elder  Las  Casas 
gave  the  Indian  to  his  son,  who  soon  became 
warmly  interested  in  him  and  in  his  race ;  and 
as  the  father  retained  an  estate  in  Hispaniola,  the 
son  came  out  with  Ovando  in  1502  and  settled  in 
that  island.^  He  was  then  twenty-eight  years  old. 
Little  is  known  of  his  first  occupations  there,  ex- 
cept that  he  seems  to  have  been  more  or  less  con- 
cerned in  money-making,  like  all  the  other  settlers. 
But  about  1510  he  was  ordained  as  a  priest.  He 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  Christian  clergyman 
ordained  in  the  New  World.  He  was  a  person  of 
such  inunense  ability  and  strength  of  character 
that  in  whatever  age  of  the  world  he  had  lived  he 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  one  of  its  foremost 
men.  As  a  man  of  business  he  had  rare  executive 
power ;  he  was  a  great  diplomatist  and  hu  character 
an  eloquent  preacher,  a  man  of  Titanic  "^  '^ting^ 
energy,  ardent  but  self -controlled,  of  imconquerable 
tenacity,  warm-hearted  and  tender,  calm  in  his 
judgments,  shrewdly  hmnorous,  absolutely  fearless, 
and  absolutely  true.  He  made  many  and  bitter 
enemies,  and  some  of  them  were  unscrupulous 
enough ;  but  I  believe  no  one  has  ever  accused 
him   of  any  worse  sin  than  extreme   fervour  of 

^  According^  to  Llorente,  the  elder  Las  Casaa  accompanied  Co- 
Inmbns  on  his  first  voyage  in  1402,  and  Bartholomew  was  with 
him  on  his  third  voyage  in  1498,  but  this  has  been  disproved.  See 
Humboldt,  Examen  critique,  torn.  iii.  p.  286. 


440  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

temperament.     His  wrath  could  rise  to  a  wliita^^^^td 
heat,  and  indeed  there  was  occasion  enough  for  it  ^ft^Si 
He  was  also  very  apt  to  call  a  spade  a  spade  and  to^:^  tc 
proclaim  unpleasant  truths  with  pungent  emphasis. 
But  his  justice  is  conspicuously  displayed  in 
voluminous  writings.     He  was  one  of  the  best 
torians  of  his  time,  and  wrote  a  most  attractive^"^^ 
Spanish  style,  quaint,  pithy,  and  nervous,  —  a  style^^-Kle 
which  goes  straight  to  the  mark  and  rings  like^^^^e 
true  metal.^   It  is  impossible  to  doubt  the  ace 
of  his  statements  about  the  matters  of  fact  w 
were  within  the  range  of  his  personal  knowledge— ^^« 
His  larger  statistics,  as  to  the  numbers  of  the  In — ^-^• 
dian  populations  exterminated,  have  been  doubted^^ 
with  good  reason  ;  statistics  are  a  complicated  af 

^  I  do  not  mean  to  be  understood  as  calling  it  a  literary 
It  is  not  graceful  like  that  of  great  masters  of  expression  such 
Pascal  or  Voltaire.     It  is  not  seldom  cumbrons  and  aw 
usually  through  trying  to  say  too  much  at  once.     But  in  spite 
this  it  is  far  more  attractive  tlian  many  a  truly  artistic 
style.    There  is  a  g^at  charm  in  reading  what  comes  from  a 
brimful  of  knowledge  and  utterly  unselfish  and  honest.     Th 
crisp  shrewdness,  the  gleams  of  gentle  humour  and  oocaa< 
sharp  flashes  of  wit,  and  the  fervid  earnestness  in  the  books 
Las  Casas,  combine  to  make  them  very  delightful.     It  was  the 
unfiling  sense  of  humour,  which  is  so  often  wanting  in  reform- 
ers, that  kept  Las  Casas  from  developing  into  a  fanatic    The 
judicious  words  of  Humboldt  in  another  connection  will  apply 
very  well  to  the  style  of  Las  Casas :  —  in  speaking  of  it,  '*  il  ne 
s'agit  pas  de  discuter  ce  qu'on  appeUe  vaguement  le  m^rite 
litt^raire  d'un  ^crivain.    H  s*agit  de  quelque  chose  de  plus  grave 
et  de  plus  historique.     Nous  avons  considM  le  style  eomme  ex- 
pression du  caract^re,  conune  reflet  de  Tint^rieur  de  rhonune. 
.  .  .  C'est  chez  les  hommes  plus  dispose  k  agir  qu*  k  soigner  leor 
diction,  chcz  ceux  qui  demeurent  Strangers  k  tout  artifice  propre 
k  produire  des  Amotions  par  le  charme  du  lang^ge,  que  la  liaison 
si  long-temps  signal^e  entre  le  caract^re  et  le  style  se  &dt  sentif 
de  pr^f^rence/'     Examen  critique^  torn.  iii.  p.  240. 


LAS  CASAS.  441 

fair,  in  which  it  is  easy  to  let  feelings  make  havoc 
with  figures,^  But  with  regard  to  particular  state- 
ments of  fact  one  cannot  help  believing  Las  Casas, 
because  his  perfect  sincerity  is  allied  with  a  judg- 
ment so  sane  and  a  charity  so  broad  as  to  con- 
strain our  assent.  He  is  almost  always  ready  to 
make  allowances,  and  very  rarely  lets  his  hatred  of 
sin  blind  him  to  any  redeeming  qualities  there 
may  be  in  the  sinner.  It  was  he  that  said,  in  his 
crisp  way,  of  Ovando,  that  he  was  a  good  governor, 
but  not  for  Indians.  What  Las  Casas  witnessed 
under  the  administration  of  Ovando  and  other 
governors,  he  published  in  1552,  in  his  "  Brief  Re- 
lation of  the  Destruction  of  the  Indies,"  a  book  of 
which  there  are  copies  in  several  languages,  all 
more  or  less  rare  now.^  It  is  one  of  the  most 
grewsome  books  ever  printed. 

We  have  seen  how  by  the  year  1499  communi- 
ties of  Indians  were  assigned  in  repartimiento  to 
sundry  Spaniards,  and  were  thus  reduced  to  a  kind 
of  villenage.  Queen  Isabella  had  disapproved  of 
this,  but  she  was  persuaded  to  sanction  ,j^^  ^^^ 
it,  and  presently  in  1503  she  and  Ferdi-  o'deraoi  isos. 
nand  issued  a  most  disastrous  order.  They  gave 
discretionary  power  to  Ovando  to  compel  Indians 
to  work,  but  it  must  be  for  wages.     They  ordered 

^  The  arithmetio  of  Las  Casas  is,  hcrwever,  no  worse  than  that 
of  all  the  Spanish  historians  of  that  age.  With  every  one  of  them 
the  nine  digits  seem  to  have  gone  on  a  glorious  spree. 

^  I  have  never  seen  any  of  the  English  versions.  Sahin  men- 
tions four,  pnhlished  in  London  in  1583,  1656,  1687,  and  1699. 
List  of  the  Printed  Editions^  etc.,  pp.  22-24.  The  edition  which 
I  use  is  the  Latin  one  published  at  Heidelberg,  1664,  small 
qnarta 


442  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

bim,  moreover,  to  see  that  Indians  were  duly  iiw 
structed  in  the  Christian  faith,  provided  that  they 
must  come  to  mass  ^^  as  free  persons,  for  so  they 
are."  It  was  further  allowed  that  the  cannibal 
Caribs,  if  taken  in  actual  warfare,  might  be  sold 
into  slavery.  Little  did  the  sovereigns  know  what 
a  legion  of  devils  they  were  letting  loose.  Of 
course  the  doings  in  Hispaniola  always  went  the 
full  length  of  the  authority  granted  from  Spain, 
and  generally  went  far  beyond.  Of  course  the 
Indians  were  compelled  to  work,  and  it  was  not 
for  wages ;  and  of  course,  so  long  as  there  was  no 
legal  machinery  for  protecting  the  natives,  any 
Lidian  might  be  called  a  cannibal  and  sold  into 
slavery.  The  way  in  wliieh  Ovando  carried  out 
the  order  about  missionary  work  was  characteris- 
tic. As  a  member  of  a  religious  order  of  knights, 
he  was  familiar  with  the  practice  of  encomienda^ 
by  which  groups  of  novices  were  assigned  to  cer- 
tain preceptors  to  be  disciplined  and  in- 

Encomienda*.  t»i  •i»i  i 

structed  m  the  mysteries  of  the  order. 
The  word  encomienda  means  "  commandery  "  or 
"  preceptory,"  and  so  it  came  to  be  a  nice  euphe- 
mism for  a  hateful  thing.  Ovando  distributed  In- 
dians among  the  Spaniai'ds  in  lots  of  50  or  100  or 
500,  with  a  deed  worded  thus :  "  To  you,  such  a 
one,  is  given  an  encomienda  of  so  many  Indians, 
and  you  are  to  teach  them  the  things  of  our  holy 
Catholic  Faith."  In  practice  the  last  clause  was 
disregarded  as  a  mere  foniiality,  and  the  eflfect 
of  the  deed  was  simply  to  consign  a  parcel  of  In- 
dians  to  the  tender  mercies  of  some  Spaniard  to 
do  as  he  pleased  with  them.      If  the  system  of 


LAS  CAS  AS.  443 

repartimientos  was  in  eflfect  serfdom  or  villenage, 
the  system  of  encomiendas  was  unmitigated  sla- 
very. 

Such  a  cruel  and  destructive  slavery  has  seldom, 
if  ever,  been  known.  The  work  of  the  Indians 
was  at  first  largely  agricultural,  but  as  many  mines 
of  gold  were  soon  discovered  they  were  driven  in 
gangs  to  work  in  the  mines.  There  was  a  rush  of 
Spaniards  to  Hispaniola,  like  the  rush  of  all  sorts 
and  conditions  of  white  men  in  recent  times  to 
Calif  omia  and  Australia,  and  we  know  well  what 
kind  of  a  population  is  gathered  together  under 
such  circumstances.  For  a  graphic  description  of 
it  we  may  go  to  Charles  Beade's  "  Never  too  Late 
to  Mend."  And  here  we  must  take  care  not  to 
identify  too  indiscriminately  the  Spaniards,  as 
such,  with  the  horrors  perpetrated  in 

TT*  •1  Tx  i    •       A^  1  Effect*  of  the 

Uispaniola.  it  was  not  m  the  charac-  discovery  of 
ter  of  Spaniards  so  much  as  in  the  char- 
acter of  ruffians  that  the  perpetrators  behaved, 
and  there  have  been  ruffians  enough  among  peo- 
ple who  speak  English.  If  the  worst  of  these 
slave-drivers  was  a  Spaniard,  so  too  was  Las  Casas. 
Many  of  the  wretches  were  the  oflfscourings  of 
camps,  the  vile  refuse  of  European  wars ;  some  of 
them  were  criminals,  sent  out  here  to  disencumber 
Spanish  jails.  Of  course  they  had  no  notion  of 
working  with  their  own  hands,  or  of  wielding  any 
implement  of  industry  except  the  lash.  With 
such  an  abimdant  supply  of  cheap  labour  an  In- 
dian's life  was  counted  of  no  value.  It  was  cheaper 
to  work  an  Indian  to  death  and  get  another  than 
to  take  care  of  him,  and  accordingly  the  slaves 


444  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

were  worked  to  deatih  witihout  mercy.  From  tim 
to  time  the  Indians  rose  in  rebellion,  but  thee 
attempts  were  savagely  suppressed,  and  a  policy  c 
terror  was  adopted.  Indians  were  slaughtered  b 
the  hundred,  burned  alive,  impaled  on  sharp  stakes 
torn  to  pieces  by  blood-hounds.  In  retaliation  fc 
the  murder  of  a  Spaniard  it  was  thought  propc 
to  call  up  fifty  or  sixiy  Indians  and  chop  off  thei 
hands.  Little  children  were  flung  into  the  wate 
to  drown,  with  less  concern  than  if  they  had  bee 
puppies.  In  the  mingling  of  sacred  ideas  wit 
the  sheerest  devilry  there  was  a  grotesqueness  £ 
for  the  pencil  of  Dor^.  Once,  "  in  honour  and  rei 
erence  of  Christ  and  his  twelve  Apostles,"  the 
hanged  thirteen  Indians  in  a  row  at  such  a  heigh 
that  their  toes  could  just  touch  the  ground,  Bin 
then  pricked  them  to  death  with  their  sword-points 
taking  care  not  to  kill  them  quickly.  At  anothe 
Hideous  cruel-  ^^^y  whcn  somc  old  rcprobatc  was  broi] 
ties.  jjjg  half-ardozen  Indians  in  a  kind  of  era 

die  suspended  over  a  slow  fire,  their  shrieks  awok 
the  Spanish  captain  who  in  a  neighbouring  hut  wa 
taking  his  afternoon  nap,  and  he  called  out  testil; 
to  the  man  to  despatch  those  wretches  at  once,  an< 
stop  their  noise.  But  this  demon,  determined  no 
to  be  baulked  of  his  enjoyment,  only  gagged  th 
poor  creatures.  Can  it  be,  says  Las  Casas,  that 
really  saw  such  things,  or  are  they  hideous  dreams 
Alas,  they  are  no  dreams ;  ''  all  this  did  I  behoL 
with  my  bodily  mortal  eyes."  ^ 

This  tyranny  went  on  untU  the  effect  was  lik 

^  "  Todo  esto  yo  lo  vide  con  mis  ojoB  coiporales  mortalea. 
Hist,  de  las  Indias,  torn,  iii  p.  06^ 


LAS  CASAS.  445 

that  of  a  pestilence.  The  native  population  rap- 
idly diminished  until  labour  grew  scarce,  and  it  was 
found  necessary  in  Hispaniola  to  send  and  kidnap 
Indians  from  other  islands,  and  to  import  from 
Seville  negroes  that  had  been  caught  by  the  Por- 
tuguese in  Africa.  The  first  slave  -  hunters  that 
went  to  the  Lucayan  islands  beguiled  the  simple 
natives  with  pretty  stories  and  promises,  and  thus 
enticed  them  on  board  their  ships.  Some  thou- 
sands of  Lucayans  were  taken  to  Hispaniola,  and 
there  is  a  touching  story  of  one  of  these  poor  fel- 
lows, who  cut  down  and  hollowed  out  a  pithy  tree, 
and  lashed  to  it  smaller  stems  till  he  had  made  a 
good  staunch  raft.  He  stuffed  it  with  com  and 
calabashes  of  fresh  water,  and  then  with  two 
friends,  a  man  and  a  woman,  he  put  to  sea  one  dark 
night,  and  they  paddled  toward  the  north  star.^ 
After  many  anxious  days  and  nights  they  had  gone 
more  than  200  miles  and  were  coming  near  to  their 
own  land,  when  all  at  once  their  hearts  were  sick- 
ened at  the  sight  of  a  Spanish  cruiser  in  the  offing, 
and  presently  they  were  stowed  beneath  its  deck 
and  carried  back  in  black  despair  to  the  land  of 
bondage.  No  less  pathetic  is  the  story  of  the 
cacique  Hatuey  in  Cuba,  who  had  heard  that  the 
Spaniards  were  coming  over  from  Hispaniola  and 
hit  upon  an  ingenious  expedient  for  protecting  his 
people.     Taking  a  big  lump  of  gold  he  called  his 

^  Herrera,  Higtoria  de  leu  Indiaa,  Madrid,  1601,  torn.  i.  p.  228. 
As  Sir  Arthnr  Helps  observes,  **  there  is  somewhat  of  immortality 
in  a  stout-hearted  action,  and  though  long  past  it  seems  stiU 
yoni^  and  fnU  of  life  :  one  feels  quite  anxious  now,  as  if  those 
Indians  were  yet  npon  that  sea,  to  know  what  becomes  of  them." 
Spaniih  Conquest,  toL  i.  p.  226. 


446  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

clan-chiefs  together,  and  said  :  —  Behold,  this  is 
the  god  of  the  white  men  ;  wherefore  let  us  dance 
to  it  and  reverence  it,  that  if  peradventure  they 
come  hither,  it  may  tell  them  to  do  us  no  harm ; 
and  so  these  simple  barbarians  adored  the  piece 
of  yellow  metal  and  danced  around  it,  and  sought 
to  win  its  favour.^ 

In  1609  Ovando  was  recalled,  and  went  home, 
a  poor  man,  leaving  as  his  last  act  the  larger  part 
of  his  property  to  found  a  hospital  for  needy  Span- 
iards. Under  his  successor,  Diego  Columbus,  there 
was  little  improvement.  The  case  had  become  a 
hard  one  to  deal  with.  There  were  now  what  are 
called  "  vested  rights,"  the  rights  of  property  in 
Antonio  slavcs,  to   be  respected.     But  in  1510 

Montedno.  there  Came  a  dozen  Dominican  monks, 
and  they  soon  decided,  in  defiance  of  vested  rights, 
to  denounce  the  wickedness  they  saw  about  them. 
So  one  Sxmday  in  the  year  1511  Father  Antonio 
Montesino  preached  a  great  seimon  in  the  church 
at  San  Domingo,  from  the  text,  ^^  I  am  the  voice 
of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness.'*  His  words,  says 
the  chronicler,  were  "  very  piercing  and  terrible." 
He  told  his  dismayed  hearers  that  they  were  liv- 
ing in  mortal   sin,  and  their  greed  and  cruelty 

^  Herrera,  op.  ciU  torn.  i.  p.  293.  This  propitiation  of  the  whita 
man's  yellow  godi  did  not  avail  to  save  the  nnf  ortanate  caeiqne. 
Soon  after  their  arrival  in  Cuba  the  Spaniards  caaght  him,  and 
he  was  burned  alive  at  the  stake.  As  he  was  writhing'  amid  the 
flames,  a  priest  held  np  a  cross  before  him  and  begged  him  to 
'*  become  a  Christian  *'  so  that  he  might  go  to  heaven.  The  half- 
roasted  Indian  replied  that  if  there  were  Christians  in  heaven  he 
had  no  desire  to  go  to  any  snch  place.  See  Las  Casas,  Indiamm 
devcuttUionis  et  excidii  narratioy  p.  16. 


LAS  CAS  AS,  447 

were  Buch  that  for  any  chance  f hey  had  (rf  going 
to  heaven  they  might  as  well  be  Moors  or  Turks ! 

Startling  words,  indeed,  to  Spanish  ears,  —  to 
be  told  that  they  were  no  better  than  Mahome- 
tans !  The  town  was  in  an  uproar,  and  after  the 
noon  dinner  a  deputation  of  the  principal  citizens 
went  to  the  shed  which  served  temporarily  as  a 
monastery,  and  angrily  demanded  an  apology  from 
Father  Antonio.  The  prior's  quiet  reply  was  that 
Father  Antonio's  sentiments  were  those  of  the 
Dominican  community  and  would  on  no  account 
be  retracted.  The  infuriated  citizens  then  said 
that  unless  a  different  tone  was  taken  in  the  pul- 
pit next  Sunday  the  monks  had  better  pack  up 
their  goods  for  a  sea  voyage.  That  would  be  easily 
done,  quoth  the  prior,  and  verily,  says  Las  Casas, 
with  his  sly  humour,  it  was  so,  for  all  they  had  on 
earth  would  have  gone  into  two  small  trunks.^ 

Next  Sunday  the  church  was  thronged  with 
Spaniards  from  far  and  near,  for  the  excitement 
was  fierce.  Mass  was  performed,  and  then,  amid 
breathless  silence.  Father  Antonio  stepped  into  the 
pulpit  and  preached  a  still  more  terrible  sermon ; 
threatened  his  hearers  with  eternal  torments,  and 
fleclared  that  the  monks  would  refuse  confession 
tx>  any  man  who  should  maltreat  his  Indians  or 
engage  in  the  slave-trade.  Glorious  Antonio 
^lontesino !  first  of  preachers  on  American  soil  to 
<3eclare  war  to  the  knife  against  this  gravest  of 
American  sins ! 

Loyalty  to  the   church  was   too   strong  among 

^  These  events  are  related  Tvith  full  details  by  Las  Casas,  Hist, 
<ie  las  Indias,  torn.  iii.  pp.  365-380. 


448  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Spaniards  for  any  violence  to  be  offered  to  tli 


monks,  but  the  citizens  made  complaint  to  Kingj^-S^f 
Ferdinand.  His  wife  Isabella,  dying  six  years^^B^"*^ 
before  these  events,  had  left  to  him  in  her  will  one 
Theking»«  ^^  ^^  *^®  incomc  to  be  got  from  the 
poduon.  Indies  during  his  lifetime.  After  Isa- 
bella's death  the  crown  of  Castile  had  passed  to 
their  daughter  Joanna,  and  Ferdinand  for  a  while, 
restricted  to  his  own  kingdom  of  Aragon,  had 
little  to  do  with  American  affairs.  But  after  a 
couple  of  years,  Joanna  having  become  insane,  Fer- 
dinand had  become  regent  of  Castile,  and  was  thus 
lord  over  America,  and  as  half  the  American  rev- 
enue, which  was  chiefly  gold  from  the  mines,  was 
to  come  to  him,  the  colonists  in  Hispaniola  looked  -fc^d 
to  him  to  defend  their  vested  interests.  The  citi-  — '^^' 
zens  of  San  Domingo  got  hold  of  an  unworthy  '^s^-^J 
member  of  the  Franciscan  order,  and  sent  him  to  ^i^^ 
Spain  to  complain  against  the  Dominicans ;  and  M^^^^ 
Antonio  Montesino  went  over  himself  to  forestall  -t»--* 
the  Franciscan  monk.  Antonio  saw  the  king  and 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  him,  so  that  a  con* 
clave  of  learned  priests  was  assembled,  and  vari- 
ous plans  of  relief  and  reform  were  discussed. 
Nothing  was  reaUy  accomplished,  except  that  some 
seeds  of  reform  were  sown,  to  bear  fruit  at  a  later  '*^^*^ 
season. 

Meanwhile  the  good  Montesino  had  gained  an  ^ 
ally  upon  the  scene  of  action  worth  a  dozen  kings. 
Las  Casas  was  by  natural  endowment  a  many- 
sided  man,  who  looked  at  human  affairs  from  vari- 
ous points  of  view.  Under  other  circumstances 
he  need  not  necessarily  have  developed  into  a  phi*  i 


^ 


LAS  CASAS.  449 

lanthropist,  though  any  career  into  which  he  might 
have  been  drawn  could  not  have  failed  to  be  hon- 
ourable and  noble.     At  first  he  seems  to  have  been 
what    one   mi&'ht  call  worldly-minded. 
But  the  most  interestins:  thins:  about  him  fi"t  a  dare- 

owner. 

we  shall  find  to  be  his  steady  intellec- 
tual and  spiritual  development ;  from  year  to  year 
he  rose  to  higher  and  higher  planes  of  thougnt 
and  feeling.  He  was  at  first  a  slave-owner  like 
the  rest,  and  had  seen  no  harm  in  it.  But  from 
the  first  his  kindly  sympathetic  nature  asserted  it- 
self, and  his  treatment  of  his  slaves  was  such  that 
they  loved  him.  He  was  a  man  of  striking  and 
easily  distinguishable  aspect,  and  the  Indians  in 
general,  who  fled  from  the  sight  of  white  men, 
came  soon  to  recognize  him  as  a  friend  who  could 
always  be  trusted.  At  the  same  time,  however, 
as  a  good  man  of  business  he  was  disposed  to 
make  money,  and,  as  he  tells  us,  ^^  he  took  no  more 
heed  than  the  other  Spaniards  to  bethink  himself 
that  his  Indians  were  unbelievers,  and  of  the  duty 
that  there  wa^  on  his  part  to  give  them  instruction, 
and  to  bring  them  to  the  bosom  of  the  Church  of 
Christ."  He  sympathized  with  much  that  was 
said  by  Montesino,  but  thought  at  first  that  in  his 
unqualified  condemnation  of  the  whole  system  of 
slavery  that  great  preacher  was  going  too  far.  We 
must  not  be  wanting  in  charity  toward  slaveholders. 
It  is  hard  for  a  man  to  extricate  himself  from  the 
entanglements  of  ideas  and  situations  prepared  for 
him  before  he  was  bom.  The  heart  of  Las  Casas, 
however,  was  deeply  stirred  by  Montesino,  and  he 
pondered  much  upon  his  words. 


450  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

In  the  same  year  tliat  those  memorable  sermons 
were  preached,  Diego  Columbus  made  up  his  mmd 
to  conquer  and  colonize  Cuba,  and  he  sent  Velas- 
quez for  that  purpose.  Las  Casas  presently  fol- 
lowed. The  usual  tale  of  horrors  had  begun,  but 
he  succeeded  in  doing  much  to  improve  the  situa- 
tion. For  the  time  he  was  the  only  priest  on  the 
island.  The  tremendous  power  of  the  church  was 
personified  in  him,  and  he  used  it  unflinchingly  in 
defence  of  the  Indians.  When  the  island  was  re- 
garded as  conquered,  Velasquez  proceeded  to  give 
encamiendas  of  Indians  to  his  friends,  and  a  large 
village  was  given  as  an  encomienda  to  two  partners, 
conrewioii  of  ^^  whom  onc  was  Las  Casas.  It  was 
LaaCMaa.  ^j^^  duty  of  Las  Casas  to  say  mass  and 
now  and  then  to  preach,  and  in  thinking  of  his 
sermon  for  Pentecost,  1514,  he  opened  his  Bible, 
and  his  eye  alighted  upon  these  verses  in  the  34th 
chapter  of  Ecclesiasticus :  — 

"  The  Most  High  is  not  pleased  with  the  ofEer- 
ingsi  of  the  wicked :  neither  is  he  pacified  for  sin 
by  the  multitude  of  sacrifices. 

"  The  bread  of  the  needy  is  their  life ;  he  that 
defraudeth  him  thereof  is  a  man  of  blood. 

"He  that  taketh  away  his  neighbour's  living 
slayeth  him ;  and  he  that  defraudeth  the  labourer 
of  his  hire  is  a  shedder  of  blood." 

As  he  read  these  words  a  light  from  heaven 
seemed  to  shine  upon  Las  Casas.  The  scales  fell 
from  his  eyes.  He  saw  that  the  system  of  slavery 
was  wrong  in  principle.  The  question  whether 
you  treated  your  slaves  harshly  or  kindly  did  not 
go  to  the  root  of  the  matter.     As  soon  as  you  took 


LAS  CASAS.  461 

from  the  labourer  his  wages  the  deadly  sin  was 
committed,  the  monstrous  evil  was  inaugurated. 
There  must  be  a  stop  put  to  this,  said  Las  Casas. 
We  have  started  wrong.  Here  are  vast  countries 
which  Holy  Church  has  given  to  the  Spaniards  in 
trust,  that  the  heathen  may  be  civilized  and 
brought  into  the  fold  of  Christ ;  and  we  have  be- 
gun by  making  Hispaniola  a  heU.  This  thing 
must  not  be  suffered  to  grow  with  the  growth  of 
Spanish  conquest.  There  was  but  one  remedy. 
The  axe  must  be  put  to  the  root  of  the  tree. 
Slavery  must  be  abolished. 

Las  Casas  began  by  giving  up  his  own  slaves. 
He  had  reason  enough  to  know  that  others  might 
not  treat  them  so  well  as  he,  but  he  was  not  the 
man  to  preach  what  he  did  not  practise.  His 
partner,  Pedro  de  Renteria,  was  a  man  of  noble 
nature  and  much  under  his  influence,  so  that  there 
was  no  difficulty  there.  Then  Las  Casas  went 
into  the  pulpit  and  preached  to  his  con-  ^j^  ^^ 
gregation  that  their  souls  were  in  dan-  feedings. 
ger  so  long  as  they  continued  to  hold  their  encomi- 
endas  of  Indians.  "  All  were  amazed,"  he  says  ; 
"  some  were  struck  with  compunction  ;  others  were 
as  much  surprised  to  hear  it  called  a  sin  to  make 
use  of  the  Indians,  as  if  they  had  been  told  it 
were  sinful  to  make  use  of  the  beasts  of  the 
field.'' 

Too  many  were  of  this  latter  mood,  and  finding 
his  people  incorrigible.  Las  Casas  sold  what  worldly 
^oods  he  had  left,  and  went  to  Spain  to  lay  the 
case  before  King  Ferdinand.  First  he  visited 
Bishop  Fonseca,  as  the  most  important  member  of 


462  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

the  Council  for  the  Indies.    From  this  coarse  man 

His  reception    ^^^  ^^  cynical  contcmpt  for  philanthro-^z^"^)- 

byFonaeca;     pjgtg^  j^  Casas  got  such  a  receptiocm:  ^=>n 

as  might  have  been  expected.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  Ovando  was  one  of  Fonseca's  creatures. 
When  Las  Casas  told  how  7,000  children 
cruelly  perished  in  Hispaniola  within  three  months^ 
he  doubtless  overstated  the  case,  and  clearly  Fon— 
seca  did  not  believe  him.  He  answered  roughly 
^  Look  here,  you  droll  fool,  what  is  all  this  to  me 
and  what  is  it  to  the  king  ?  "  This  fairly  took  ou 
poor  priest's  breath  away.  He  only  exdaimed^^-^Bf 
*^  O  great  and  eternal  God !  to  whom,  then,  is  i9"  ^^ 
of  any  concern  ?  "  and  so  he  turned  upon  his  heeK^^ 
and  left  the  room. 

On  arriving  at  Seville,  he  learned  that  the  king^^^g 
had  just  died,  January  23,  1516.  Ferdinand'^^  ^ 
daughter  Joanna,  queen  of  Castile  and  heiress 
the  throne  of  Aragon,  was  still  insane,  and 
thrones  descended  practically  to  her  illustrious^s^-^^ 
son  Charles,  a  boy  of  sixteen,  who  was  then  in^:^^-*^ 
Flanders.  For  the  present  the  great  cardinaLt-^^ 
Ximenes  was  regent  of  Spain,  and  to  him  wents^-^^* 
Las  Casas  with  his  tale  of  woe.  From  the  cardi — 
ami  hy  Cardi-  ^^  ^c  obtained  ready  and  cordial  sym — 
nai  ximene*.  p^thy.  It  was  a  fortuuatc  cii*cumstanee  ^=^'^^ 
that  at  this  juncture  brought  two  such  men 
gether.  Las  Casas  knew  well  that  the  enslav 
ment  of  Indians  was  not  contemplated  in  the  ro\ 
orders  of  1503,  except  so  far  as  concerned  canni- 
bals taken  in  war;  but  the  evil  had  become 
firmly  established  that  at  first  he  hesitated  abou 
the  policy  of  using  this  line  of  argument.     H 


LAS  CA8AS.  458 

pradently  shaped  his  question  in  this  wise  :  "  With 
what  justice  can  such  things  be  done,  whether  the 
Indians  are  free  or  not?"  Here,  to  his  joy,  the 
cardinal  caught  him  up  vehemently.  "With  no 
justice  whatever :  what,  are  not  the  Indians  free  ? 
who  doubts  about  their  being  free  ?  "  This  was  a 
great  point  gailied  at  the  start,  for  it  put  the  offi- 
cial theory  of  the  Spanish  government  on  the  side  of 
Las  Casas,  and  made  the  Spaniards  in  America 
appear  in  the  light  of  transgressors.  The  matter 
was  thoroughly  discussed  with  Ximenes  First  Ett«mpto 
and  that  amiable  Dutchman,  Cardinal  '^^''"^ 
Adrian,  who  was  afterwards  pope.  A  commission 
of  Hieronymite  friars  was  appointed  to  accompany 
Las  Casas  to  the  West  Indies,  with  minute  in- 
structions and  ample  powers  for  making  investiga- 
tions and  enforcing  the  laws.  Ximenes  appointed 
Las  Casas  Protector  of  the  Indians,  and  clothed 
him  with  authority  to  impeach  delinquent  judges 
or  other  public  officials.  The  new  regulations, 
could  they  have  been  carried  out,  would  have  done 
much  to  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  the  Indians. 
They  must  be  paid  wages,  they  must  be  humanely 
treated  and  taught  the  Christian  religion.  But 
as  the  Spanish  government  needed  revenue,  the 
provision  that  Indians  might  be  compelled  to 
work  in  the  mines  was  not  repealed.  The  Indians 
must  work,  and  the  Spaniards  must  pay  them. 
Las  Casas  argued  correctly  that  so  long  as  this 
provision  was  retained  the  work  of  reform  would 
go  but  little  way.  Somebody,  however,  must  work 
the  mines ;  and  so  the  talk  turned  to  the  question 
«f  sending  out  white  labourers  or  negroes. 


454  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Here  we  come  to  the  statement,  often  re] 
that  it  was  Las  Casas  who  first  introduced  n(  _ 
slavery  and  the  African  slave-trade  into  the  Ne^^^  ^^ 
World.  The  statement  is  a  good  specimen  of  th^K^^*^ 
headlong,  helter-skelter  way  in  which  things 
said  and  believed  in  this  superficial  world. 
The  popular  ^^^  repeated,  there  was  probably 
L^CM^l^d  agreeable  tinge  of  paradox  in  represent 
negio  darery.  j^g  ^^  greatest  of  philanthropists  as  th^-^® 
founder  of  one  of  the  vilest  systems  of  bondag^p^'Z^ 
known  to  modem  times.  At  length  it  has  com^^  -^ 
to  pass  that  people  who  know  nothing  about 
Casas,  and  have  absolutely  no  other  idea  associat 
with  his  name,  still  vaguely  think  of  him  as  th^^^® 
man  who  brought  negro  slaves  to  America  as  sub— ^^^^ 
stitutes  for  Indians,  — the  man  who  sacrificed  on^^-^® 
race  of  his  fellow-creatures  to  another,  and 
paid  Peter  by  robbing  Paul. 

There  could  not  be  a  grosser  historical  blundei 
than  this  notion,  and  yet,  like  most  such  blunders 
it  has  arisen  from  a  perversion  of  things  that  reall^^-tJly 
were  said  if  not  done.  In  order  to  arrive  at  his^^-*^^ 
torical  truth,  it  is  not  enough  to  obtain  correcr^:-^^^ 
items  of  fact ;  it  is  necessary  to  group  the  items-^^^^^^*^ 
in  their  causal  relations  and  to  estimate  the  pre 
cise  weight  that  must  be  accorded  to  each  in 
total  result.  To  do  this  is  often  so  difEicnlt 
half-truths  are  very  commonly  offered  us  in  plac^^^^"^ 
of  whole  truths ;  and  it  sometimes  happens  that  oft:"^^"*  ^^ 
all  forms  of  falsehood  none  is  so  misleading  as 
half-truth. 

The  statement  about  Las  Casas,  with  which  wc^^^*^ 
are  here  concerned,  properly  divides  itself  into 


LAS  CASA8.  456 

pair  of  statements.  It  is  alleged,  in  the  first 
place,  that  it  was  Las  Casas  who  first  suggested 
the  employment  of  negroes  as  substitutes  for  In- 
dians ;  and  in  the  second  place,  that  the  origin,  or 
aL  any  rate  the  steady  development,  of  negro 
slavery  in  America  was  due  to  this  suggestion. 
These  are  two  different  propositions  and  call  for 
different  comments. 

With  regard  to  the  first,  it  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  Las  Casas  at  one  time  expressed  the  opinion 
that  if  there  must  be  slave  labour,  the  enslave- 
ment of  blacks  might  perhaps  be  tolerated  as  the 
smaller  of  two  evils,  inasmuch  as  the  what  Las 
negroes  were  regarded  as  a  hardier  race  ^*^  '^^ 
than  the  Indians  and  better  able  to  support  con- 
tinuous labour.  At  one  time  the  leading  colonists 
of  Ilispaniola  had  told  Las  Casas  that  if  they 
might  have  license  to  import  each  a  do7.en  negroes, 
they  would  cooperate  with  him  in  his  plans  for 
setting  free  the  Indians  and  improving  their  con- 
dition. When  Las  Casas  at  the  Spanish  court 
was  confronted  with  the  argument  that  there  must 
be  somebody  to  work  the  mines,  he  recalled  this 
suggestion  of  the  colonists,  and  proposed  it  as 
perhaps  the  least  odious  way  out  of  the  difficulty. 
It  is  therefore  evident  that  at  that  period  in  his 
life  he  did  not  realize  the  wickedness  of  slavery 
so  distinctly  in  the  case  of  black  men  as  in  the 
case  of  red  men.  In  other  words,  he  had  not  yet 
outgrown  that  mediaeval  habit  of  mind  which  re- 
garded the  right  to  "  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness,"  and  other  rights,  not  as  common  to 
all  mankind,  but  as  parcelled  out  among  groups 


456  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

and  classes  of  men  in  a  complicated  way  that  to 
our  minds,  on  the  eve  of  the  twentieth  century,    ^-^i 
Medierai  and   ^^^  bccomc  welluigh  Unintelligible.    Ik   '^  -k 
SjSSidT     ^^ ^®  great  French  writers  of  the  eigh-   — -•- 
^«****  teenth  century  who  first  gave  distinct 

expression  to  the  notion  of  ^^  unalienable  rights,'' 
with  which  mankind  has  been  endowed  by  the 
Creator.  This  notion  has  become  so  familiar  to 
our  minds  that  we  sometimes  see  the  generaliza- 
tions of  Rousseau  and  Diderot,  or  whatever  remains 
sound  in  them,  derided  as  mere  platitudes,  as  if  it 
had  never  been  necessary  to  preach  such  self-evi-  — i- 

dent  truths.     But  these  "platitudes"  about  uni-  ^-i- 

versal  rights  were  far  enough  from  being  s^plf-evi-  — -i- 
dent  in  the  sixteenth  century.     On  the  contrary,  «.  '^^ 

they  were  extremely  unfamiliar  and  abstruse  con -Mi- 

ceptions,  toward  which  the  most  enlightened  minds  .^s  Jls 
could  only  grope  their  way  by  slow  degrees.^     Itlmzm:^^ 
Las  Casas  it  is  interesting  to  trace  such  a  develop — ^dBP" 
ment.     He  had  gradually  risen  to  iiie^^^Mda& 
opmento?^  perception   of    the  full  wickedness  oSr^:^  ox 

modam  con-         •■  •       it       r  •  I'liiii  ^t% 

oeption  in  lm   slavcry  in  the  form  in  wmch  he  had  be — ^xi3)©^ 
*****  come  familiar  with  it ;  but  he  had  not^^:>-^®^ 

yet  extended  his  generalizations,  as  a  modemciK^*^^^ 
thinker  would  do,  to  remote  cases,  and  in  order  toc^*  ** 
gain  a  point,  the  supreme  importance  of  which  he^^J  ^ 
keenly  felt,  he  was  ready  to  make  concessions.  IncxI  i^ 
later  years  he  blamed  himself  roundly  for 


^  As  Mr.  John  Morley  observes,  **  the  doctrine  of  moral  oblij 
tions  toward  the  lower  races  had  not  yet  taken  its  place  in  Eo^i 
rope."    Diderot  and   the  Encyclopcedists,   London,  1880,  p.  3SflLif>^=*^ 
Mr.  Moildy^s  remarks  on  the  influence  of  Raynal^s  famous  book^-:^^  ^^ 
fli!f!OMne  dm  deux  Indet.  in  this  oonnection,  are  admirable. 


LAS  CASAS,  457 

any  Buch  concessions.  Had  he  "sufficiently  con- 
sidered the  matter,"  he  would  not  for  all  the  world 
have  entertained  such  a  suggestion  for  a  moment ; 
for,  said  he,  the  negroes  "had  been  made  slaves 
ttnjustly  and  tyrannically,  and  the  same  reason 
holds  good  of  them  as  of  the  Indians."  ^ 

With  regard  to  the  second  of  the  statements  we 
are  considering,  the  question  arises  how  far  did 
this  suggestion,  for  which  Las  Casas  afterward  so 
freely  blamed  himself,  have  any  material 

^M       .     •  ...  rt      .     .1  A  i?  •  ^*''  momenta- 

effect  m   setting  on   toot  the   African  rysuggeBtion 

slave-trade  or  in  enlarging  its  dimen-  bie  effect  upon 
sions?  The  reply  is  that  it  had  no  "**^  ^*"^' 
such  effect  whatever.  As  for  the  beginnings,  ne- 
groes had  been  carried  to  Hispaniola  in  small  num- 
bers as  early  as  1501 ;  and  in  the  royal  instructions 
drawn  up  at  that  time  for  Ovando,  he  was  for- 
bidden to  take  to  the  colony  Moors,  Jews,  new 
converts  from  Islam  or  Judaism,  monks  not  Span- 
ish,  and  the  children  of  persons  burned  at  the 
stake  for  heresy,  but  he  might  take  negro  slaves.^ 
Official  documents  prove  that  at  various  times  be- 
tween 1500  and  1510  negroes  were  sent  over  to 
work  in  the  mines,  but  not  in  large  numbers.^ 
As  for  the  extensive  development  of  negro  slavery 
in  the  West  Indies,  it  did  not  begin  for  many 
years  after  that  period  in  the  career  of  Las  Casas 
with  which  we  are  now  dealing,  and  there  is  no- 
tiiing  to  show  that  his  suggestion  or  concession  was 
in  any  way  concerned  in  bringing  it  about.     If,  on 

^  Las  Casas,  Hist,  de  las  Indias^  torn.  iv.  p.  380. 
'  Navarrete,  Coleccion  de  viages,  torn.  ii.  doc.  175. 
'  Herrera,  Hist,  de  las  IndiaSf  torn.  i.  pp.  274-276. 


458  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

the  other  hand,  instead  of  confining  our 
to  this  single  incident  in  his  life,  the  importance -^^^^^ 
of  which  has  been  egregiously  exaggerated,  wm'  ^^^we 
consider  the  general  effect  of  his  life-work,  tha'^=g-^ 
effect  was  clearly  adverse  to  the  development  oz^^^  of 
the  African  slave-trade.  For  if  the  depopulatioi 
of  the  New  World  had  continued,  which  Lias  Casa&. 
did  so  much  to  check,  it  cannot  lo  doubted  thar..^s»at 
the  importation  of  ne£n*oes  to  SpanisUT^sk 
did  much  to     America  would  have  been  immeasurabl]^-Cy 

diminuhthe  _  •      ■■  i  rm  a  i»  .     ~ 

Toiume  of  ne-  greater  than  it  has  been.      Ine  Afn 
•ad  the  spirit,  can  slavc- trade  would   have   assimi< 

ual  oorraptioii  *  i  •     i 

•ttendut        much  larger  proportions  than  it  has  evei 
known,  and  its  widely  ramifying  influ 


ence  for  evil,  its  poisonous  effects  upon  the  charactei 
of  European  society  in  the  New  World,  whethei 
Spanish  or  English,  would  probably  have  si 
anything  that  we  can  now  realize.  When  the  worl 
of  Las  Casas  is  deeply  considered,  we  cannot  mak^:^^'^® 
him  anything  else  but  an  antagonist  of  humarm^-^^*" 
slavery  in  all  its  forms,  and  the  mightiest  and  mos-«5f^3osi 
effective  antagonist,  withal,  that  has  ever  Kvedfc^ 
Subtract  his  glorious  life  from  the  history  of  th#^^=»'^*" 
past,  and  we  might  still  be  waiting,  sick  with  hop^^ij'^^l 
deferred,  for  a  Wilberforce,  a  Grarrison,  and  a  "  "  ^  " 
coin. 


In  all  the  work  at  the  Spanish  court  the  Bisho  j;<:^^^ 
of  Burgos  tried  by  eveiy  means  in  his  power 
impede  and  thwart  Las  Casas,  and  agents  of  th#. 
oolonists  gained  the  ears  of  the  Hieronymite 
BO  that  matters  were  very  imperfectly  mended,  anc^ 
die  next  year,  after  a  stout  fight.  Las  Casas 


LAS  CASAS.  459 

tamed  to  Spain  to  find  the  great  cardinal  on  his 
death-bed.     The  loss  of  this  powerful  ally  was  a 
serious  misfortune  for  Las  Casas.     He  was   not 
long,  however,  in  winning  the  esteem  of  chariesv  and 
Charles  V.      The  young  king  greatly  ^^ciwm. 
liked  him,  and  his  grave  face  always  lighted  up 
with  pleasure  whenever  he  happened  to  meet  "  Mas- 
ter Bartholomew,"  as  .he  used  to  call  him.     Las 
Casas  now  tried  to  enlist  white  emigrants  for  the 
West  Indies,  to  labour  there ;  but  the  task  of  get- 
ting Spaniards  to  work,  instead  of  making  slaves 
work  for  them,  was  not  an  encouraging  one.     At 
length,  however,  he  devised  a  scheme  which  seemed 
likely  to  work.     He  undertook  to  select  fifty  Span- 
iards for  whose  characters  he  could  vouch,  to  sub- 
scribe 200  ducats  each  and  go  with  him  to  found 
a  colony  upon  the  mainland.     That  the  Indians 
might  distinguish  between  these  men  and  any  other 
Spaniards  they  had  ever  seen,  they  were  to  wear 
a  peculiar  uniform,  white  with  a  coloured  cross.   If 
their  work  should  prosper  he  intended  to  ask  the 
Pop9  to  recognize  them  as  a  religious  j^  „obie 
fraternity,  like  those  of    the    Middle  '^^*"*- 
Ages,  which  had  been  of  such  inestimable  value 
as  civilizing  agencies.     He  promised  to  make  it  an 
enterprise  which  should  justify  itself  by  paying  its 
own  way  and  yielding  a  steady  revenue  to  the 
crown.      If  he   could  not  cure  the  evils  in  the 
islands,  he  could  at  least  set  the  example   of   a 
new  colony  founded  on  sound  principles,  and  might 
hope  that  it  would  serve  as  a  centre  for  the  diffu- 
sion of  a  higher  civilization  in  the  New  World. 
In  pursuance  of  this  scheme  Las  Casas  obtained 


460  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

from  Charles  V.  a  grant  of  territory  about  Co- 
mana  on  the  Pearl  Coast.     There  were  three  years 
of  hard  work  in  these  preliminaries,  hindered  at 
every  step  by  the  malignant  intrigues  of  Bishop 
Fonseca.      At  length,  in  1520,  the   Protector  of 
the  Indians  returned  to  Hispaniola,  and  in  1521 
he  was  ready  for  the  Pearl  Coast.      Some  Do- 
minicans had  already  founded  a  small  monastery 
there,  and  from  them  Las  Casas  could  always  look 
for  cordial  assistance.     But  Satan  had  not  been 
asleep  while  these  things  were  going  on.     In  the 
neighbouring  island  of  Cubagua,  fishing  for  pearls, 
The  mischief     ^^^  ^  jouiig  man   named   Alonso    de 
^llT^:;    Ojeda,!    concerning  whom   Las   Casas 
^"^  ^^-  savs,  with   truth,  "  that  if  he   had  not 

been  born,  tlie  world  would  have  lost  nothing." 
Ojeda  wanted  slaves,  and  thought  it  a  bright  idea 
to  catch  a  few  on  the  mainland  and  pretend  they 
were  cannibals.  He  took  a  notary  with  his  party 
in  order  to  catechise  some  chiefs  and  have  such 
answers  taken  down  as  coidd  be  made  to  convict 
them  of  cannibalism.2  But  ha\dng  no  paper  about 
him  he  stopped  at  the  Dominican  monastery  and 
asked  for  a  sheet,  whicli  was  given  him.  Ojeda 
presently  changed  his  mind,  abandoned  his  cate- 

^  Llorente  {(Euirres  de  Las  Casas^  torn.  i.  p.  130)  confounds  him 
with  the  Alonso  de  Ojeda  whose  career  we  liave  already  traced 
down  to  his  death  in  1515,  five  years  before  the  time  of  the  events 
we  are  now  narrating.  Curiously  enough,  on  another  page  of  the 
same  volume  (p.  xlv.)  Llorente  warns  the  remler  not  to  confound 
the  two,  but  thinks  that  this  younger  sinner  may  perhaps  have 
been  the  son  of  the  other.     I  suspect  this  is  a  mere  guess. 

^  The  reader  will  observe  that  some  sliglit  progress  seems  ti 
have  been  made,  since  these  legal  formalities  were  deemed  net 
ceasary. 


LAS  CASAS.  461 

chising  project  as  uncertain  and  tedious,  and 
adopted  some  other  device.  A  few  miles  down  the 
coast  he  fell  in  with  some  Indians,  attacked  them 
ander  circumstances  of  foulest  treachery,  slew  a 
great  many,  and  carried  off  the  rest  in  Ms  vessel. 
Now  the  Indians  were  always  deeply  impressed 
with  the  way  in  which  white  people  communicated 
intelligence  to  one  another  by  means  of  mysterious 
bits  of  paper.  Some  Indians  had  seen  the  innocent 
monk  give  the  piece  of  paper  to  Ojeda,  and  so,  as 
the  news  of  his  evil  deeds  flew  along  the  coast,  they 
naturally  concluded  that  the  Dominicans  must  be 
his  accomplices.  So  they  not  only  contrived  to  kill 
the  worthless  Ojeda  the  next  time  he  touched  upon 
•the  coast,  but  they  set  fire  to  the  monastery  and 
massacred  the  monks.  And  so  fiercely  was  their 
wrath  now  kindled  against  all  Spaniards  that  soon 
after  the  f oimding  of  the  colony  of  Las  Casas  at 
Cumana,  on  an  occasion  when  —  fortunately  for 
him  —  some  business   had    called  him 

Destruction  of 

back  to  Hispaniola,  they  attacked  the  theuttieooi- 
little  colony  in  overwhelming  numbers, 
and  destroyed  it.  Those  who  escaped  their  javelins 
were  fain  to  flee  to  the  neighbouring  islands  and 
thence  to  San  Domingo.  Their  incipient  village 
was  burned  to  the  ground,  and  not  a  white  man 
was  left  on  the  Pearl  Coast. 

Seven  years  had  now  elapsed  since  that  memora- 
ble Pentecost  of  1514,  seven  years  of  ceaseless  toil 
and  sore  perplexity,  and  now,  just  as  the  way  was 
beginning  to  seem  clear  toward  some  tangible  re- 
sult, everything  was  ruined  by  the  villainy  of  one 
scurvy  knave.     There  is  reason  to  suppose  that 


462  TUE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Las  Casas  may  liave  somewhat  overfcaxed  hif 
strength.  His  nerves  were  strained  beyond  endur" 
Grief  of  Lu  8^<^69  and  when  he  heard  the  news  of 
SZi'a  D(^   this  terrible  blow,  he  fell,  for  the  first 

minlcan  monk.    ^^^  ^^^  ^^^   ^   jj^  jjf ^^  intO    a   fit   of 

profound  despondency.  Perhaps,  said  he,  in  pro- 
phetic language,  ''the  Spaniards  are  not  to  be 
saved  from  the  commission  of  great  wickedness 
and  from  decay  of  their  power."  Perhaps  God 
had  for  some  inscrutable  purpose  decreed  that 
the  Indians  must  be  destroyed.  Perhaps  there 
was  in  his  own  soul  some  lurking  sin  which  made 
him  unworthy  to  be  God's  instrument  for  righting 
these  grievous  wrongs.^  The  Dominican  monas- 
tery at  San  Domingo  was  no  longer  a  mere  shed.^ 
In  its  pleasant  garden  would  Las  Casas  sit  motion- 
less hour  after  hour,  absorbed  in  meditation  upon 
these  heart-rending  mysteries  of  the  Divine  Provi- 
dence. The  good  monks  improved  the  situation 
by  persuading  Las  Casas  to  join  their  order.  He 
became  a  Dominican  in  1522,  and  remained  there 
at  the  monastery  for  eight  years,  leading  the  life  of 
a  close  student,  acquiring  a  profound  knowledge 
of  patristic  and  mediaeval  theology,  becoming  ex- 
pert in  the  sinuosities  of  scholastic  logic,  and 
wi'iting  histoiy  such  as  the  world  could  iU  afford  to 
spare. 

Dui'ing  these  eight  years  the  Spanish  empire  in 

^  **  The  digniity  and  greatness  of  his  cause  were  so  prodominant 
in  the  mind  of  Los  Casas  as  to  leave  no  room  for  influences  merely 
personal.  It  does  not  appear  that  he  ever  expected  gratitude 
from  the  Indiana ;  nor  did  the  terrible  disaster  which  he  suffered 
at  Cumanji  leave,  apparently,  the  slightest  rancour  in  his  mind.'* 
Helps,  Spanish  Conquest^  vol.  iy.  p.  334. 


LAS  CASAS.  .  463 

America  was  rapidly  ezpaading.  When  Laa  Casas 
entered  the  monastery,  Coiies  had  lately  captured 
the  great  Mexican  pueblo  and  overtlirown  the 
Aztec  confederacy.  Then  Pedro  de  Alvcjrado 
conquered  Guatemala,  while  Fedrariaa  gp^i^icoii- 
and  his  captains  devastated  Nicaragua  2™iwmo^ 
like  a  typhoon  or  a  plague.  Now  in  °™"- 
1530  the  Fizarros  and  Almagro  were  just  starting 
on  their  final  and  deciaive  expedition  for  the  con- 
quest of  Peru.  Old  Pedrarias  had  just  died  at 
somewhere  about  his  ninetieth  year.  The  horrors 
of  Hispauiola  had  been  repeated  in  Nicaragua. 
We  may  suppose  that  this  had  much  to  do  with 
arousing  the  Dominicans  of  Hispaniola  to  renewed 
activity.  Las  Casas  tells  us  very  little  about 
himself  at  this  conjuncture.  Indeed,  his  histoiy 
of  the  Indies  brings  us  down  no  farther  than  1522. 
But  we  leam  frcm  Antonio  de  Bemesal  —  an  ex- 
cellent authority  for  this  part  of  his  career  —  that 
he  emerged  from  his  seclusion  in  1530,  went  over 
to  Spain,  and  obtained  from  Charles  V.  a  decree 
prohibiting  the  enidavement  of  Indians  in  the 
countries  which  Pizarro  and  Almagro  were  ex- 
pected to  conquer.'  On  retm-ning  to  Hispanicla, 
Las  Casas  was  sent  to  the  new  Dominican  monas- 
tery in  Mexico,  there  to  take  companions  and  pro-  , 
eeed  to  Fern,  for  the  purpose  of  proclaiming  the 
imperial  decree  and  founding  a  monastery  there. 
For  some  reason  the  latter  purpose  was  not  carried 
out.  The  decree  was  proclaimed,  but  it  proved 
impossible  to  enforce  it.  For  three  or  four  years 
Xaa  Casas  was  kept  bnsy  in  Nicaragua,  putting  a 
1,  Bittoria  de  ChU^M,  UadriJ,  1G19,  p.  103. 


464  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

curb  upon  the  rapacity  and  cruelty  of  the  new  gov- 
ernor. Meanwhile  a  friend  of  his  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Guatemala,  and  thither  Las  Casas  re- 
paired early  in  1536.  A  Dominican  monastery, 
founded  there  somewhat  prematurely,  had  been 
unoccupied  for  six  or  seven  years,  and  Las  Casas 
and  three  of  his  companions  now  took  possession 
of   it.     There  the  first  thing  they  did 

The  Utile  ,  .  1  1     T  i       , 

uu>uiu»teryin     was    to    acquirc   a  knowledge    of   the 

Quiche  language  s|X)ken  by  the  natives- 
of  Guatemala^  a  language  not  without  some  inter — 
estiug  native  literature  which  modem  scholarship 
has  discovered  and  edited.^  So  zealously  did  these 
four  monks  work  that  it  was  not  long  before  they 
could  talk  quite  fluently  in  Quiche,  and  they  soon 
found  occasion  to  put  this  rare  accomplishment  to 
a  practical  use. 

While  in  the  monastery  at  San  Domingo,  Las 
Casas  had  written  his  famous  Latin  treatise  De 
nnico  vocationis  modo^  or  the  only  proper  method 
of  calling  men  to  Christianity.  In  these  years  of 
trial  his  mind  had  been  growing  in  clearness  and 
grasp.  He  had  got  beyond  all  sophistical  distinc- 
tions between  men  of  one  colour  and  faith  and 
men  of  another,  —  a  wonderful  progress  for  a 
Spaniaixl  born  eight  yeai*s  before  the  Moor  i^-as 
driven  from  Granada.  He  had  come  to  see  what 
was  really  involved  in  the  Christian  assumption  of 
the  brotherhood  of  men  ;  and  accordingly  he  main- 

^  See  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Bibliotheque  Mexico-Guat/mali'-' 
enne;  Popol  VmA,  le  lAvrt  S<icri  des  QuicfUs ;  and  for  the  litem* 
ture  of  a  iieiglibourinf;  people  in  Guatemala,  see  Brinton's  Annals 
^  iU  Cakcki^uils,  Philadelphia,  18S5. 


LAS  CASAS.  465 

Gained  that  to  make  war  upon  infidels  or  heathen, 
merely  because  they  are  infidels  or  heathen,  is  sin- 
ful ;  and  that  the  only  right  and  lawful 
^way  of  bringing  men  to  Christ  is  the  waytobriu| 
*^iray  of  reason  and  persuasion,     lo  set 
zforth  such  a  doctrine  at  that  time  and  still  keep 
<;lear  of  the  Inquisition  required  consummate  skil- 
:f ulness  in  statement.     This  little  book  was  never 
printed,  but   manuscript    copies    of    the   original 
Xiatin  and  of  a  Spanish  translation  were  circulated, 
and  called  forth  much  conunent.    The  illustrations 
drawn  from  American  affairs  exasperated  the  Span- 
ish colonists,  and  they  taunted  Las  Casas.     He 
"was  only  a  vain  theorizer,  they  said ;  the  gospel  of 
3)eace  would  be  all  very  well  in  a  world  already 
perfect,  but  in  our  world  the  only  prac- 
idcable  gospel  is  the  gospel  of  kicks  and 
TjIows.     Go  to,  let  this  apostle  try  himself  to  con- 
Tert  a  tribe  of  Indians  and  make  them  keep  the 
peace ;  he  will  soon  find  that  something  more  is 
needed  than  words  of  love.     So  said  the  scoffers, 
as  they  wagged  their  heads. 

Las  Casas  presently  took  them  at  their  word. 
The  province  of  Tuzulutlan,  just  to  the  north  of 
Guatemala  and  bordering  upon  the  peninsula  of 
Yucatan,  was  called  by  the  Spaniards  The  Land  of 
the  "  Land  of  War."  It  was  an  inac-  ^'"' 
cessible  country  of  beetling  crags,  abysmal  gorges, 
raging  torrents,  and  impenetrable  forest.  In  their 
grade  of  culture  the  inhabitants  seem  to  have  re- 
sembled the  Aztecs.  They  had  idols  and  hiunan 
sacrifices,  and  were  desperate  fighters.  The  Span- 
iards had  three  times  invaded  this  country,  and 


466 


THE  DISCOVEBT  OF  AMERICA. 


three  times  had  been  hurled  back  in  a  reiy  dilain^ 
dated  conditioii.  It  could  hardly  be  called  a  prom- 
ising field,  but  this  it  VBS  that  Las  Casas  choe^ 
for  his  experiment.^ 


TniuIuUiLn,  or  tbs  "  IdDd  of  War." 


Let  us  note  well  his  manner  of  proceeding,  for 
there  are  those  to.day  who  maintun  that  the  type 
of  character  which  Victor  Hugo  has  sketched  in 
Monseigneur  Bienvenu  is  not  calculat«d 
^''Jf'lII^.  to  achieve  success  in  the  world.  The 
exam|de  of  IJas  Casas,  however,  tends 
to  confirm  us  in  the  opinion  that  when  combined 

'  A  full  accouDt  of  the  work  of  Lu  Casas  in  TDznlatlui  !■  giTM 
in  Rsmesal'a  Hittoria  de  CAtopo,  lib.  iii.  cap.  ix.-xL,  xt.-ztuL 


LAS  CA8AS.  467 

'^th  sii£Bcient  intelligence,  that  type  of  character 
is  the  most  indomitable  and  mastei'f  ul  of  all.  And 
in  this  I  seem  to  see  good  promise  for  the  future 
of  humanity.  The  wisdom  of  the  serpent,  when 
'wedded  to  the  innocence  of  the  dove,  is  of  all. 
tilings  the  most  winning  and  irresistible,  aa  Las 
Oasas  now  proceeded  to  prove. 

Alvarado,  the  fierce  governor  of  Guatemala,  was 
absent  in  Spain.  Las  Casas  talked  with  the  tem- 
porary governor,  Alonzo  de  Maldonado,  and  the 
result  of  their  talk  was  the  following  agreement, 
signed  May  2, 1537.  It  waa  agreed  that  Diplomacy  of 
"if  Las  Casas,  or  any  of  his  monks,  ^^^^"*»- 
can  bring  these  Indians  into  conditions  of  peace, 
so  that  they  should  recognize  the  Spanish  monarch 
for  their  lord  paramount,  and  pay  him  any  mod- 
erate tribute,  he,  the  governor,  would  place  those 
provinces  imder  his  majesty  in  chief,  and  ^ould 
not  give  them  to  any  private  Spaniard  in  enconii" 
enda.  Moreover,  no  lay  Spaniard,  under  heavy 
penalties,  except  the  governor  himself  in  person, 
should  be  allowed  for  five  years  to  enter  into  that 
territory."  ^  Ojedas  and  other  such  sinners  were 
now,  if  possible,  to  be  kept  at  a  distance.  No 
doubt  Maldonado  smiled  in  his  sleeve  when  he 
signed  his  name  to  this  agreement.  Of  course  it 
could  never  come  to  anything. 

Thus  guaranteed  against  interference,  the  good 
monks  went  to  work,  and  after  a  due  amount  of 
preliminary  fasting  and  prayer  they  began  by  put- 
ting into  Quiche  verses  an  epitome  of  Christian 
doctrine  simple  enough  for  children  to  apprehend, 

^  Helps,  Spanish  Conquest,  iiL  337. 


468  THE  DISCOVEBT  OF  AMERICA. 

—  the  story  of  the  fall  of  man,  the  life  and  death 
of  Christ,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  the 
Preparations  ^^^  judgment.  It  is  a  pity  that  these 
inJii^f  toe  verses  have  not  been  preserved,  but  no 
Land  of  War.   j^^y^^   j^^   Cajsas,   whoso    great  heai-t 

knew  so  well  how  to  touch  the  secret  springs  of 
the  Indian  mind,  knew  how  to  make  the  story  as 
attractive  and  as  moving  as  possible.  The  verses 
wei*e  nicely  balanced  in  couplets,  so  as  to  aid  the 
memory,  and  were  set  to  music  so  that  they  might 
be  chanted  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  rude  In- 
dian instruments.  Then  the  monks  found  four 
Indian  traders,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  travelling 
now  and  then  through  the  ''  Land  of  War "  with 
goods  to  barter.  They  spent  many  weeks  in  win- 
ning the  affection  of  these  Indians  and  teaching 
them  their  sacred  poem,  explaining  everything  with 
endless  patience,  until  the  new  converts  knew  it 
all  by  heart  and  felt  able  to  answer  simple  questions 
about  it.  When  the  monks  felt  sure  that  the  work 
was  thoroughly  done,  they  despatched  the  four 
traders  on  their  missionary  errand  to  the  pueblo  of 
the  most  powerful  cacique  in  that  coimtry,  taking 
care  to  provide  them  with  an  ample  store  of  mir- 
rors, bells,  Spanish  knives,  and  other  stuff  attrac- 
tive to  barbarians. 

When  the  traders  arrived  at  their  destination 

they  were  hospitably  received,  and,  ac- 
trJuce^wL       cording  to  custom,  were  lodged  in  the 

tecpan.^  They  were  zealous  in  their 
work,  and  obeyed  their  instructions  f aithfiJly.  Af- 
ter vending  their  wares  as  usual,  they  called  for 

^  See  Bmndeller,  in  Peabodjf  Museum  RtportSf  vol.  ii.  p.  673. 


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Ancient  Nahnatl  Flute  Melodies. 


470  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

some  Mexican  drums  or  timbrels,  and  proceeded 
to  chant  their  sacred  couplets.*  They  were  weD 
received.  Indians  uttering  such  strange  sweet 
words  must  have  seemed  miraculously  inspired,  and 
so  the  audience  thought.  For  several  days  the 
performance  was  repeated,  and  the  traders  were 
beset  with  questions.  After  a  while  they  drew 
pictures  of  the  tonsured  monks,  and  said  that  they 
learned  these  mysteries  from  these  holy  men,  who, 
although  white  men,  were  not  like  other  Spaniards, 
for  they  spent  their  lives  in  doing  good,  they  had 
no  wives,  they  treated  all  women  with  respect,  they 

^  Aa  a  specimen  of  the  kind  of  mnsio  likely  to  have  been  em- 
ployed on  this  occasion,  I  give  a  pag^  of  ancient  Nahuatl  flute 
melodies,  taken  from  Dr.  Brinton's  The  GUegiU  nee  ;  a  Comedy  Bal- 
let in  the  Nahuatl-Spamsh  Dialect  of  Nicaragua,  Philadelphia, 
1883.  In  the  introduction  to  that  interesting  work  there  is  a 
section  on  the  music  and  musical  instruments  of  the  natives  of 
Nicaragua,  who  were  and  are  an  outlying  hranch  of  the  great 
Nahua  people.  From  statements  of  Oviedo,  Father  Duran,  Ben- 
xoni,  and  other  old  writers,  further  illustrated  by  the  investig^a- 
tions  of  modem  travellers,  Dr.  Brinton  has  made  a  learned  and 
valuable  essay.  If  the  reader  who  is  familiar  with  the  history  of 
music  will  take  the  trouble  to  compare  the  melodies  here  cited 
from  page  xxxiv.  of  Dr.  Brinton*s  work  with  the  melodies  from  the 
Giiegiience  itself,  given  by  Dr.  Brinton  on  pag«  xl.,  he  will  recog^ 
nize  at  once  that  the  latter  have  been  produced  under  Spanish 
influences,  while  the  former  show  no  trace  of  such  influence  and 
are  undoubtedly  g^enuine  aboriginal  music.  The  reader  wiU  ob- 
serve the  monotony  and  the  limited  range  of  the  melodies  here 
cited,  and  can  imagine  the  lugubrious  but  perhaps  not  wholly  un- 
pleasant effect  of  such  tunes  when  chanted  in  the  open  air  to  the 
accompaniment  of  the  tqyonaztU  or  old  Mexican  timbrels.  For 
some  account  of  the  ancient  Peruvian  music,  see  Garcilasso,  Co- 
mentarios  reales^  pt.  i.  lib.  ii.  cap.  xxvi.  An  interesting  collection 
of  Zufii  melodies,  recorded  upon  phonographic  cylinders  by  Dr. 
Fewkes,  of  the  Hemenway  Archaeological  Expedition,  may  be 
found  in  the  Journal  of  American  Ethnology  and  Archceologyf 
vol.  i.  pp.  63-02. 


LAS  CASA8.  471 

cared  nothing  for  gold,  and  thej  taught  that  the 
time  had  come  for  abolishing  hmnan  sacrifices. 
The  cacique  became  so  interested  as  to  send  his 
younger  brother  back  to  Guatemala  with  the  In- 
dian traders,  charging  him  to  watch  the  Domini- 
cans narrowly,  and  if  he  should  find  them  answer- 
ing to  the  description  that  had  been  given  of  them 
he  might  invite  them  to  visit  Tuzulutlan. 

Thus  the  ice  was  broken.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  the  young  chieftain  was  well  received,  or  that 
he  was  satisfied  with  what  he  saw.  The  invita- 
tion was  given,  and  one  of  the  Dominicans,  the 
noble  Luis  de  Barbastro,  who  was  the  ^^  ^^  p^, 
most  fluent  of  the  four  in  the  Quiche  tion.  carried. 
language,  now  made  his  way  into  the  inaccessible 
fastnesses  of  Tuzulutlan,  escorted  by  the  young 
chief  and  the  Indian  traders.  By  the  fiirst  of  No- 
vember, six  months  after  the  beginning  of  the  en- 
terprise. Father  Luis  had  converted  the  cacique  and 
several  clan  chiefs,  a  rude  church  had  been  built, 
and  human  sacrifices  prohibited  by  vote  of  the 
tribal  council.^  Then  Las  Casas,  with  another 
monk,  arrived  upon  the  scene.  There  was  much 
excitement  among  the  tawny  people  of  Tuzulutlan. 
The  hideous  priests  of  the  war-god  were  wild  with 
rage.  They  reminded  the  people,  says  Remesal, 
that  the  flesh  of  these  white  men,  dressed  with  chile 
sauce,  would  make  a  dainty  dish.  Some  secret  in- 
cendiary burned   the  church,  but  as  the  cacique 

*  As  already  observed,  there  are  many  indications  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  conquest  of  Mexico  and  Central  America  that  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  people  were  by  no  means  unwilling  to  bid 
farewell  to  their  cruel  religions. 


472  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

and  so  many  clan  chiefe  had  been  gained,  there 
was  no  open  rebellion.  Before  another  year,  had 
elapsed  the  Tndians  had  yoluntarily  destroyed  their 
idols,  renounced  cannibalism,  and  promised  to  de- 
sist from  warfare  unless  actually  invaded.  And 
now  were  to  be  seen  the  fruits  of  the  masterly 
diplomacy  of  Las  Casas.  Though  the  cacique  had 
thrice  defeated  the  Spaniards,  he  knew  well  how 
formidable  they  were.  By  acknowledging  the  su- 
premacy of  Charles  V.  —  a  sovereign  as  far  off  as 
The  victory  the  sky  —  and  pajong  a  merely  nominal 
''**^  tribute,  he  had  the  word  of  Las  Casas, 

which  no  Indian  ever  doubted,  that  not  a  Spaniard, 
without  the  express  permission  of  the  Dominicans, 
should  set  foot  upon  his  territory.  This  arrange- 
ment was  made,  the  peaceful  victory  was  won,  and 
Las  Casas  returned  to  Guatemala,  taking  with  him 
the  cacique,  to  visit  Alvarado,  who  had  just  re- 
turned from  Spain. 

This  rough  soldier,  it  will  be  remembered,  was 
the  man  who  by  his  ill-judged  brutality  had  pre- 
cipitated the  catastrophe  of  the  Spaniards  in  the 
city  of  Mexico  on  the  May  festival  of  1520.  Li 
his  hard  heart  there  was,  however,  a  gallant  spot. 
He  knew  a  hero  when  he  saw  him,  and  he  well 
knew  that,  with  all  his  military  qualities,  he  could 
never  have  done  what  Las  Casas  had  just  done. 
So  when  the  stem  conqueror  and  lord  of  Guate- 
mala, coming  forth  to  greet  Las  Casas  and  the 
Indian  king,  took  off  his  plumed  and  jewelled  cap, 
and  bent  his  head  in  reverence,  it  seems  to  me  one 
of  the  beautiful  moments  in  history,  one  of  the 
moments   that   comfort   us  with   the   thought   of 


LAS  CAS  AS.  473 

What  may  yet  be  done  with  fraU  humanity  when 
the  spirit  of  Christ  shall  have  come  to  be  better 
understood.  Of  coiu'se  Alvarado  confirmed  the 
agreement  that  no  lay  Spaniard  should  be  allowed 
to  enter  Tuznlutlan ;  was  he  not  glad  enough  thus 
to  secure  peace  on  this  difficult  and  dangerous 
frontier  ? 

Las  Casas  now,  in  1539,  went  to  Spain  and  had 
the  agreement  confirmed  in  a  most  solemn  and  per- 
emptory order  from  Charles  V.  The  order  was 
obeyed.  The  "  Land  of  War "  was  left  unmo- 
lested and  became  thenceforth  a  land  of  The  "Land  of 
I>eaee.i  jfot only  did  it  cease  to  trouble  ^"'^ ^"*^"" 
the  Spaniards,  but  it  became  a  potent  centre  for 
xnissionary  work  and  a  valuable  means  of  diffus- 
ing Christian  influences  among  other  Indian  com- 
munities. The  work  was  permanent.  Las  Casas 
liad  come,  he  had  seen,  and  he  had  conquered ; 
snd  not  a  drop  of  human  blood  had  been  shed ! 

Meanwhile  he  had  not  been  idle  in  other  direc- 
tions, and  at  length  had  gained  the  most  powerful 
of  allies.      That  reformation  within  the  Papacy, 
^which  was  one  of    the  consequences  of  Luther's 
xevolt,  was  beginning.     Paul  III.  was  a  pope  of 
different  type  from  either  the  wretched  Borgia  or 
the  elegant  and  worldly  Medici.     In  the  summer 
of  1537,  while  Las  Casas  and  his  monks  EnBinvement 
were    preparing    their    mission   to   the  ^orbldde^by 
"  Land  of  War,"  the  Pope  issued  a  brief  '^'  ^''^• 
forbidding    the  further  enslavement    of    Indians, 
under  penalty  of  excommunication.      Henceforth 

^  A  part  of  this  region  has  ever  since  home  the  name  Vera  Paz, 
or  "  True  Peace/'  and  thus  upon  every  map  is  this  noblest  of  con- 
quests recoirdecL 


474  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

any  governor  who  should  give,  or  any  settler  w^ 
should  receive,  a  new  encomienda  of  Indjans^  ^^ 
who  should  forcibly  deprive  them  of  their  goo4*> 
was  to  be  refused  the  sacraments  of  the  Chu:*^*^ 
Thus  the  further    spread   of   slavery  was  to        "® 
stopped.      Before  leaving  Guatemala  for   Sp^^^» 
Las  Casas  had  the  pleasure  of  translating  -:^iis 
decree  into  Spanish  and  sending  it  to  all  part^^  of 
the  Indies.^     He  was  detained  five  years  in  Spa^^"^ 
as  the  emperor  needed  his  advice,  and  it  was  <^Bur- 
ing  this  period  that  he  wrote  his  "  Destruction*^  of 
the  Indies  "  and  other  famous  books.     In  1542S  ie 
won  his  grand  and  decisive  triumph  in  the  pron^i^i^- 
The  New         gatiou  of  the  New  Laws  by  Charles^-     '  • 
lAWfc  The  decisive  clause  was  as  follows      —  ^ 

"  Item.  We  order  and  command  that  hence 
ward  for  no  cause  whatever,  whether  of  war, 
beUion,  ransom,  or  in  any  other  manner,  can 
Indian  be  made  a  slave."  This  clause  was  n< 
repealed,  and  it  stopped  the  spread  of  slave 
Other  clauses  went  fiirther,  and  made  such  sw( 
ing  provisions  for  inmaediate  abolition  that  it  pro 
to  be  impossible  to  enforce  them.^     The  rebel 


fto» 


'  A  copy  of  the  text  of  this  papal  brief  is  given  in  Rem^^ 

lib.  lu.  cap.  xni. 

^  "It  is  well  known  that  the  liberation  of  the  Indians  . 

^H  itt* 
personal  servitude  was  a  measure,  not  only  of  humanity  and         -^  ' 

tioe,  but  also  of  policy,  on  the  part  of  tlie  Spanish  govemm:::^  *^  . 

to  weaken  the  growing  power  of  the  conquerors  and  early  c^  - 

nists.     The  troubles  in  Peru  give  a  good  example  of  the  stat    "*   ** 

affairs/'     Bandelier,  in  Peabody  Museum  Reports,  voL  ii.  p. 

There  is  some  reason  for  believing  that  at  the  time  of 

arrival  in  Peru,  Gonzalo  Pizarro  was  intending  to  throw  ol 

allegiance  to  Spain  entirely  and  make  himself  king,  in  whic 

would  doubtless  have  been  upheld  by  the  settlers  had  not 


his 
bbe 


LAS  CASAS.  475 

in  Pern,  which  ended  in  bringing  Gonzalo  Pizarro's 
head  to  the  block,  was  chiefly  a  rebellion  against 
the  New  Laws,  and  as  will  be  inferred  from  our 
account  of  Gasca's  proceedings,  it  was  suppressed 
chiefly  by  repealing  those  clauses  that  operated  as  a 
confiscation  of  property  in  slaves  already  existing. 
The  matter  was  at  last  compromised  by  an  ar- 
rangement that  encomiendas  should  be  inheritable 
during  two  lives,  and  should  then  escheat  to  the 
crown.  This  reversion  to  the  crown  Thefin^i 
meant  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves.  ccmpromiBe. 
Meanwhile  such  provisions  were  made,  and  by 
degrees  more  and  more  stringently  enforced,  as 
to  protect  the  lives  of  the  Indians  and  keep  them 
together  in  their  own  communities,  so  that  the 
dreadful  encomienda  reverted  to  the  milder  form 
of  the  repartimiento.  Absolute  slavery  was  trans- 
formed into  jvillenage.  In  this  ameliorated  form 
the  system  continued.  As  generations  passed  from 
the  scene,  the  Spanish  crown  was  persuaded  to  ex- 
tend the  inheritance  of  the  encomienda  to  a  third 
and  a  fourth  life,  but  without  surrendering  the 
reversion.  Moreover,  there  were  always  some  re- 
irersions  falling  in  for  want  of  heirs,  so  that  there 
i¥as  gradual  emancipation  from  the  first.  In  this 
way  Indian  slavery  was  tethered  and  restricted 

'bean  able  to  bring  the  news  of  ihe  modification  in  the  New  Laws. 
See  the  letter  from  Carvajal  to  Pizarro,  dated  March  17,  1547 :  — 
^*  Y  esto  snplico  &  vnestra  Sefioria,  que  se  hierre  por  mi  cabc^a  ; 
porqae  para  la  corona  de  Rey,  con  que,  en  tan  breves  dias,  enios 
de  coronar  &  ynestra  Sefioria,  avra  mny  gran  concniso  de  gente. 
'Y  para  entonces,  yo  quiero  tener  cargo  de  aderecerlas,  y  tenerlas 
corao  convieDe/*  Fernandez,  Historia  del  PerUj  pt.  i.  lib.  ii.  cap^ 
zlix. 


476  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

until,  after  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  eentiuy, 
under  the  enlightened  administration  of  Count 
Florida  Blanca,  it  was  annulled. 

Though  it  took  so  long  to  reap  the  full  result  of 
the  heroic  labours  of  Las  Casas,  the  triumph  was 
none  the  less  his  triimiph.  It  was  he  that,  in  despite 
of  all  harrowing  rebuffs  and  disappointments, 
brought  poi>e  and  emperor  to  his  side  in  the  uncon- 
querable detoi*mination  that  the  enslave- 

Immenae  re-  «•    x     t  t  •■         tt 

suits  of  hiB  ment  of  Indians  must  be  stopped.  He 
arrested  the  evil,  and  though  he  did  not 
live  to  see  it  eradicated,  he  gave  such  a  direction 
to  things  that  their  further  course  was  upward  and 
not  downward.  Before  he  died  there  was  in  every 
part  of  Spanish  America  a  staff  of  crown  officers 
charged  with  the  duty  of  protecting  the  interests 
of  the  crown  in  the  reversion  of  the  encomiendas} 
Then  it  was  no  longer  possible  with  impunity  to 
repeat  the  horrors  of  Hispaniola  and  of  Nicara- 
gua. It  was  Las  Casas  that  saved  the  greater 
part  of  Spimish  America  from  such  a  fate.^ 

^  The  contemporary  testimony  of  one  of  the  greatest  and  noblest 
of  Spanish  historians  to  the  improvement  already  wrought  in  Peru 
through  the  work  of  Las  Casas  is  worth  citing :  — '*  In  the  au- 
diences tliere  are  learned  men  of  groat  piety,  who  punish  those 
•Spaniards  that  oppress  the  Indians  in  any  way ;  so  that  now  there 
is  no  one  who  can  ill  treat  them,  and,  in  the  greater  part  of  theae 
kingdoms,  they  are  as  much  masters  of  tlieir  own  estates  and  per- 
sons as  are  the  Spaniards  themselves.  Each  village  is  moderately 
assessed  with  the  amount  to  be  paid  as  tribute.  I  remember  that, 
when  I  was  in  the  province  of  Xauxa  a  few  years  ag^,  the  Indians 
said  to  me  with  much  satisfaction :  '  This  is  a  happy  time,  like 
the  days  of  Tupac  Inca  Yupantjui ; '  a  king  of  ancient  times, 
whose  memory  they  hold  in  great  veneration."  Cieza  de  Leon, 
ed.  Markham,  vol.  i.  p.  18. 

^  The  words  of  Sir  Arthur  Helps  are  strictly  just  and  true :  -^ 


LAS  CASA8.  477 

The  remaining  years  of  this  noble  life,  full  as 
they  are  of  interest,  must  be  passed  over  briefly. 
After  refusing  the  bishopric  of  Cuzco,  Las  Casas 
was  persuaded  to  accept  the  humbler  position  of 
bishop  of  Chiapa  near  Guatemala.  He  never 
could  be  prevailed  upon  to  accept  a  reward  or 
present  of  any  sort,  but  he  took  the  see  of  Chiapa, 
as  a  soldier  woidd  undertake  to  storm  a  redoubt. 
He  knew  there  was  hard  work  in  store  for  him 
there  in  enforcing  the  New  Laws.  When  he  ar- 
rived upon  the  scene  in  1544,  it  was 
much  as  if  Garrison  in  1860  had  se-  made  Bishop 
cui-ed  from  the  United  States  govern-  ^  ^* 
ment  a  decree  of  emancipation,  and  then  had  gone 
to  Charleston  with  authority  to  enforce  it.  The 
new  bishop  was  greeted  with  howls  of  rage.  In 
any  other  than  a  Spanish  community  it  might  have 
gone  hard  with  him,  but  the  fiercest  Spaniard 
would  always  be  pretty  sure  to  stop  short  of  lay- 
ing violent  hands  upon  a  prince  of  the  church.* 

**  His  was  one  of  those  few  lives  that  are  beyond  biography,  and 
reqnire  a  history  to  be  written  in  order  to  iUustrate  them.  His 
career  affords  perhaps  a  solitary  instance  of  a  man  wlio,  being 
neither  a  conqueror,  a  discoTerer,  nor  an  inventor,  has  by  the 
pare  force  of  benevolence  become  so  notable  a  figure  tliat  larg^ 
portions  of  history  cannot  be  written,  or  at  least  cannot  be  under- 
stood, without  the  narrative  of  his  deeds  and  efforts  being  made 
one  of  the  principal  threads  upon  which  the  history  is  strung." 
Spanish  Conquest,  vol.  iv.  p.  t>50. 

^  '*  For  sucli  is  the  reverence  they  bear  to  the  Church  here,  and 
so  holy  a  conceit  they  have  of  all  ecclesiastics,  that  the  greatest 
Don  in  Spain  will  tremble  to  offer  the  meanest  of  them  any  out- 
ragfe  or  affront."  Letter  of  August  15,  1028,  referring  to  the 
death  of  Thomas  Washington,  page  to  Prince  Charles  on  his  visit 
with  Buckingham  to  Spain,  discovered  by  Mr.  Henry  FitzGilbert 
Waten,  in  the  British  Museum.  See  The  Visitor^  Salem,  Mass., 
February  11, 1891. 


478  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

The  dignity,  the  commanding  tact,  of  Las  Ca^^ 

was  moreover  such  that  a  terrible  mob  at  Ciu<&i^J^ 

Real  ended  in  the  rioters  throwing  themselves        ^ 

tears  at  Ids  feet,  kissing  the  hem  of  his  robe, 

begging  his  forgiveness.^     After  three  years 

Cir^igned  Ms  bishopric  and  returned  to  Sp— ain. 

It  was  a  time  when  the  New  Laws  were  imperil] ^ed, 

and  he  felt  that  his  steadying  hand- was  needed         at 

the  Spanish  court,  while  he  had  now  in  the  l^^Mew 

World  so  many  Dominicans  devoted  to  the  g^iDod 

work  that  he  could  afford  to  leave  it  to  the  care        of 

these   faithful  lieutenants.^      During  the   vicL 

tudes  of  his  long  struggle  he  had  crossed  the 

lantic  not  less  than  fourteen  times ;  he  had  or ace, 

Hfaflniare-  **  appears,  sailed  down  the  Pacific  to 
tumtospain.    p^^ .  j^^  j^^^  f^^^.  ^^^  travcUcd        far 

into  Germany  to  get  the  emperor's  ear  at  sd^^^ 
critical  moment.  Now  his  joumeyings  were  ^ 
cease.  After  leaving  America  in  1547  he  returr::*^^^ 
no  more,  but  lived  for  the  remaining  ninets^'-*^^ 
years  of  his  life  at  the  Dominican  college  of  ^^3an 
Gregorio  at  Valladolid. 

In  1550  he  took  part  in  a  great  controversy 
Juan  de  Sepulveda,  one  of  the   most  celebi 
scholars  of  that  time.     Sepulveda  wrote  a  bool 
„,      _        which  he  maintained  the  riffht  of 

Hit  controrer-  ° 

SaTlSt.^       pope  and  the  king  of  Spain  to 

war  upon  the   heathen  people   of 
New  World  and  bring  them  forcibly  into  the 

^  See  the  thrilling  aoooants  in  Kemesal,  lib.  tiL  cap.  ▼iifi^»-"'^» 
Helps,  iv.  .3a3-312. 

^  I  would  by  no  means  be  nnderstood  as  wanting  in  appi 
tion  of  the  glorious  work  of  Motolinia  and  other  noble 
but  our  subject  has  its  limitations. 


LAS  CA8A8.  479 

of  Christ.  This  was  contrary  to  the  doctrine 
which  Las  Casas  had  set  forth  fifteen  years  before 
in  the  Latin  treatise  above  mentioned.  He  felt 
that  it  was  dangerous,  and  determined  to  answer 
Sepulveda.  After  the  fashion  of  those  days, 
Charles  V.  convoked  at  VaUadolid  a  council  of 
learned  theologians,  and  the  cause  was  argued  be- 
fore them  at  great  length  by  Las  Casas  and  Se- 
pulveda. The  doughty  champions  assailed  each 
other  with  texts  from  the  Bible  and  Aquinas,  scho- 
lastic logic  and  patristic  history,  and  every  other 
weapon  known  in  the  mediaBval  armory.  For  a 
man  of  such  fervour  as  Las  Casas  it  was  a  delicate 
situation.  In  maintaining  his  ground  that  persua- 
sion is  the  only  la\vf ul  method  for  making  men 
Christians,  extreme  nicety  of  statement  was  re- 
quired, for  the  least  slip  might  bring  him  within 
the  purview  of  the  Inquisition.  Men  were  burn- 
ing at  the  stak^  for  heresy  while  this  discussion 
was  going  on,  and  the  controversy  more  than  once 
came  terribly  near  home.  But  as  Sepulveda  said 
afterwards,  with  imfeigned  admiration  of  his  an- 
tagonist, he  was  "the  most  crafty  and  vigilant 
of  mortals,  and  so  ready  with  his  tongue  that  in 
comparison  with  him  Homer's  Ulysses  was  a  thick- 
witted  stutterer."  ^  When  it  came  to  a  judgment 
the  coimcil  did  not  dare  to  occupy  the  position  of 
Las  Casas,  and  so  they  gave  a  hesitating  judgment 
in  favour  of  Sepulveda ;  but  the  emperor,  doubt- 

^  "  hongujn  esset  prsBstigias,  artes  et  machinamenta  comme- 
morare,  quibns  me  deprimere,  et  veritatem  atqne  justiitiam  ob- 
Bcnrare  conatus  est  artifex  ille  versutissimns,  et  idem  vigilantis- 
Bimns  et  loquacissimas,  cni  Ulysses  Homericus  collatns  iners  erat 
•t  balbos."    Sepulveda,  Opera,  Madrid,  1780,  tom.  iii.  p.  241. 


480  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

less  with  a  pleasant  smile  for  Master  Bartholomew, 
proceeded  forthwith  to  suppress  Sepulveda's  book, 
and  sent  stringent  orders  to  America  to  have  any 
copies  of  it  found  there  seized  and  burned. 

In  1555  Charles  V.  retired  to  the  monastery  of 
Yuste,  and  his  son  Philip  II.  became  king  of  Spain. 
i^  caaaa  and  PhiUp's  plaus,  as  all  kuow,  Were  so  vast 
^*^"** "'  and  so  impossible  that  he  wrecked  him- 
self and  Spain  with  them.  At  the  outset  he  was 
short  of  money,  and  there  were  advisers  at  hand 
'  to  remind  him  that  the  colonists  in  America  would 
jimip  at  the  chance  of  buying  in  the  reversion  of 
their  encomiendas  at  a  handsome  price  in  hard 
cash.  This  wotdd  at  once  put  a  very  large  sum 
of  money  into  Philip's  hands,  and  it  wotdd  put 
the  Indians  back  into  absolute  slavery,  as  in  the 
old  days  in  Ilispaniola.  The  temptation  was 
great,  and  against  such  a  frightftd  disaster  Las 
Casas,  now  in  his  eighty-second  year,  came  forth 
to  contend.  Fortunately  the  power  of  the  Church, 
reinforced  by  political  considerations  already  men- 
tioned, was  firmly  enlisted  on  his  side,  and  he 
prevailed.  This  was  the  last  of  his  triumphs,  and 
it  is  worth  remembering  that  pretty  much^the  only 
praiseworthy  thing  Philip  II.  ever  did  was  done 
under  his  influence. 

In  his  eighty-seventh  year,  in  the  peaceful  se- 
clusion of  the  college  at  Valladolid,  Las  Casas 
brought  to  a  close  the  great  "  History  of  the  In- 
TheHhtorv  dics,"  which  hc  seems  to  have  begim  in 
of  the  Indies,    ^j^^   monastery  at  San  Domingo   more 

than  thirty  years  before.     A  remark  of  Kemesal'a 
makes  it  probable  that  the  book  was  begun,  per- 


LAS  CASAS.  481 

Imps  in  so  far  as  the  sketching  of  its  general  out- 
line was  concerned,  as  early  as  1527,  but  its  know- 
ledge of  contemporary  writers  and  events  proves 
tliat  it  was  for  the  most  part  written  between  1552 
SLnd  1561.      In  a  formal  note  dated  November, 
'  1559,  Las  Casas  consigned  the  book  in  trust  to  the 
College  of  San  Gregorio,  expressing  his  wish  that 
it  should  not  be  made  public  before  the  end  of 
that  century.     Partly  from  the  inertia  attendant 
upon  all  hiunan  things,  partly  because  of  the  plain- 
ness with  which  it  told  such  terrible  truths,  the 
book  was  allowed  to  lie  in  manuscript  for  more 
than  three  hundred  years.      During  the  present 
century  such  writers  as  Irving,  Helps,  and  a  few 
others,  read  it  to  good  purpose  in  the  manuscript, 
and  at  length  in  1875  it  was  published.     In  a  far 
truer  sense  than  any  other  book,  it  may  be  called 
the  comer-stone  of  the  history  of  the  American  con- 
tinent.    It  stops  at  1522,  when  Las  Casas  became 
a   Dominican   monk.     One  wishes  that  it  might 
have  been  continued  to  1547,  when  he  took  his 
last  leave  of  the  New  World.    But  there  are  Umits 
even  to  what  the  longest  and  strongest  life  can  do. 
After  finishing  his  work  upon  this  book,  and  in 
his  ninetieth  year.  Las  Casas  wrote  a  valuable 
treatise  on  the  affairs  of  Peru.     His  last  act  was 
to  go  to  Madrid  and  secure  a  royal  decree  promot- 
ing in  certain  ways  the  welfare  of  the  natives  of 
Guatemala.      Having  accomplished  this,  he  died 
at  Madrid,  after  a  few' days'  illness,  at  i>eatho£LM 
the  age  of  ninety-two.     In  all  this  long  ^***** 
and  arduous  life  —  except  for  a  moment,  perhaps, 
on  the  crushing  news  of  the  destruction  of  his 


482  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

colony  upon  the  Pearl  Coast — we  find  no  record 
of  work  interrupted  by  sickness,  and  to  the  veiy 
last  his  sight  was  not  dim  nor  his  natural  force 
abated. 

In  contemplating  such  a  life  as  that  of  Las 
Casas,  all  words  of  eulogy  seem  weak  and  frivo- 
lous. The  historian  can  only  bow  in  reverent  awe 
before  a  figure  which  is  in  some  respects  the  most 
beautiful  and  sublime  in  the  annals  of  Christianily 
since  the  Apostolic  age.  When  now  and  then  in 
the  course  of  the  centuries  God's  providence  brings 
such  a  life  into  this  world,  the  memory  of  it  must 
be  cherished  by  mankind  as  one  of  its  most  pre- 
cious and  sacred  possessions.  For  the  thoughts, 
the  words,  the  deeds  of  such  a  man,  there  is  no 
death.  The  sphere  of  their  influence  goes  on  widen- 
ing forever.  They  bud,  they  blossom,  they  bear 
fruit,  from  age  to  age. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

THE  WORK  OF  TWO   CENTURIES. 

The  wreck  of  the  Admiral's  flagship  on  the 
Christmas  of  1492  determined  the  site  of  the  first 
£uropearn  colony  in  the  New  World,  and  perhaps 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  by  this  accident  the 
fortunes  of  Columbus  were  from  that  day  forth 
linked  to  the  island  of  Hispaniola.  There  the 
S}>ani8h  colonial  society  assiuned  its  Hi«i»iiioi» 
earliest  type.  From  that  island  we  have  e^i^^^i^ 
Been  the  lines  of  discovery  and  conquest  ^^^' 
radiating  westward  with  Velasquez  and  Cortes, 
and  southward  with  Balboa  and  the  Pizarros.  To 
Hispaniola  we  returned  in  order  to  trace  the  be- 
ginnings of  Indian  slavery  and  the  marvellous 
career  of  Las  Casas.  From  Hispaniola  we  must 
now  again  take  our  start,  but  to  return  no  more. 
We  have  to  follow  the  lines  of  discovery  north- 
ward with  Ponce  de  Leon  and  Pineda,  and  far 
beyond  them,  until  we  have  obtained  a  sketch  of 
the  development  of  the  knowledge  of  the  huge 
continental  mass  of  North  America.  This  devel- 
opment was  the  Work  of  Two  Centuries,  and  dur- 
ing that  period  much  other  work  of  cardinal  im- 
portance was  going  on  in  the  world,  which  had 
resulted  before  its  close  in  the  transfer  of  mari- 
time supremacy  and  the  lead  in  colonial  enterprise 


484  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA, 

from  Spain  and  Portugal  to  France  and 
In  completing  our  geographical  story,  therefo 
we  shall  return  no  more  to  Hispaniola,  but  si 
be  led  farther  and  farther  away  from  that  earli< 
A  change  of     Centre,  under  the  guidance  of  Yari< 
'^'^  leaders   with  various    aims,   until 

epilogue  will  take  us  into  the  frozen  zone  whi< 
was  visited  in  our  prologue,  and  once  more 
shall  see  a  stout  Scandinavian  captain  land  u] 
the  shores  of  North  America,  coming  this 
however,  from  the  Siberian  coast  with  Ku8s£^k-^ 
ships,  to  sever  the  last  link  that  in  men's  mirKSs 
continued  to  connect  the  New  World  with  -fifc^e 
continent  of  Asia.  In  covering  so  much  groijLX^^^^ 
in  a  single  chapter,  we  must  be  content  witlx  * 
mere  sketch  of  the  outlines  ;  for  that  will  be  m<^^^^ 
conducive  to  clearness  and  will  best  harmonic*® 
with  the  general  plan  upon  which  this  work 
been  from  the  outset  conceived. 


As  we  have  already  seen,  it  is  in  a  high 
probable  that  the  peninsida  of  Florida  was 
cunmavigated,  and  a  portion  of  the  Atlantic  co: 
First  Toyage  ^  *^®  uorthward  visitcd,  in  the  spri^^==*S 
of  veapuduiL  ^ud  summcr  of  1498,  by  an  expediti^^^^^ 
in  which  Pinzon  and  Solis  were  the  commande-»-^^> 
with  Vespucius  and  Ledesma  assisting  as  pilo*-^* 
Reasons  have  also  been  given  why  that  voyage 
not  followed  up  and  came  to  be  wellnigh  f orgotfc^ 
as  was  also  the  case,  though  to  a  less  extent,  w^ 
the  voyages  of  John  Cabot  and  the  Cortere^-^*^ 
The  Indian  ocean,  with  its  spices,  being  the  regi^^^ 
toward  which  men's  eager  eyes  were  turned,  t^9^^ 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        485 

Wild  coasts  of  North  America  were  hastily  glanced 
at  and  abandoned,  very  much  as  your  dog  sniffs  at 
an  unpromising  bone,  and  turns  away.  As  already 
observed,  the  only  probable  effect  of  a  voyage 
around  Florida  at  that  moment  would  be  to  throw 
more  or  less  discredit  upon  Marco  Polo. 

Stories  from  eastern  Asia  had  not,  however,  lost 
their  charm  for  adventurers.  In  Mandeville's 
multifarious  ragout  there  is  mention  of  a  Fountain 
of  Youth  at  a  place  called  Polombe.  The  author 
cribbed  it  from  a  spurious  letter  purporting  to 
come  from  Prester  John,  which  made  its  way 
throi:^h  Europe  in  the  latter  part  of  The  Fountain 
the  twelfth  century.  Those  that  drink  °'  ^^"*^ 
of  this  fountain,  says  the  old  rogue,  seem  always 
young,  as  he  knows  because  he  has  tried  it  him- 
self !  ^     Now  this  Fons  Juventutis  had  its  remote 

^  "  At  the  heued  of  ]>'»  ilk  forest  es  ]>&  citee  of  Polombe  ;  and 
"besyde  ]>at  citee  es  a  mouutAyne,  wharofF  \>e  citee  take^  ]>e  name, 
for  men  calle3  ]>e  moantayne  Polombe.  And  at  ]>e  fote  of  \na 
monntayne  es  a  weU,  noble  and  f aire  ;  and  ye  ^ater  ]7erofF  has  a 
swete  sauonr  and  reflaire,  as  it  ware  of  dinerse  maner  of  spicery. 
And  ilke  honre  of  'pe  day  \>e  water  channg^e^  dinersely  his  sauonr 
and  his  smelL  And  wha  so  driukes  fastand  thryes  of  ]>&t  well, 
he  sail  be  hale  of  what  maner  of  malady  \>Bt  he  base.  And  for]n 
pAt  wonne^  nere  )7at  well  drynke^  ]7eroff  of ter,  and  )7erfore  ]7ai 
hafe  nenermore  sekeness,  hot  eaermore  ]7ai  seme  yung.  I.  John 
MaundeniU,  sawe  }ns  well  and  drank  )7erofF  thrys  and  all  my 
felawes,  and  enermore  sen  ]>&t  tyme  I  fele  me  ]>e  better  and  \>e 
haler  and  suppose^  for  to  do  till  ]>e  tyme  )7at  Godd  of  his  gfrace 
win  make  me  to  passe  oute  of  ]7is  dedly  lyf .  Snm  men  calle;  \>at 
well  Fons  iuuentutis,  ]?at  es  for  to  say,  \>e  well  of  yowthehede ;  for 
)>ai  }>at  drinke;  l^erofF  seme^  all  way  yan<^.  And  \>bi  say  ]ns  well 
comme)  fra  Paradys  terrestre,  for  it  es  so  vertuous.  Thurghe 
oute  all  )ns  cuntree  }>er  growes  ]>e  best  gyng^r  \>&t  es  ower  whare ; 
and  marchanndes  oomme3  )>ider  fra  ferre  cuntree;  for  to  bye  it.*' 
Eoxbnxgh  Club's  Buke  of  MandeuiU,  p.  84. 


486  TUE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

origin  in  folk-lore,  and  there  is  nothing  strange 
the  Spaniards  hearing  things  said  by  the  Indi 
that  reminded  them  of  it.  From  something  tts. 
said  by  the  Indians  they  got  the  idea  that  u 
an  isl^d  called  Bimini,  northward  from 
paniola,  this  famous  fountain  was  situated  ;  ^ 
in  1512  the  brave  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  who 
come  out  with  Columbus  in  his  second  vo 
obtained  Kmg  Ferdinand's  permission  to  go 
conquer  Bimini.  He  sailed  with  three  carav^ 
from  Porto  Rico  in  March,  1513,  and  on  the  2*7 "fch 
of  that  month,  being  Easter  Sunday,  which  in 
Spanish  is  called  Pascua  Florida,  be  came  witlxin 
sight  of  the  coast  ever  since  known  as  that  of 
Florida.  On  the  2d  of  April  Ponce  de  Lej^=»n 
landed  a  little  north  of  the  site  of  St.  Augustine- «? 
The  Land  of  ^^^  *1^®^  tumcd  back  and  followed  t;iie 
^^**''  coast  of  the   peninsula  around   to     its 

west  side  in  latitude  27°  30'.     Further  explorati^^n 
was  prevented  at  that  time  by  the  breaking  ouiJ    of 
war  with  the  Caribs.     It  was  not  until  1521  tt^^t 
Ponce  de  Leon  was  able  to  take  a  colony  to    tie 
Land  of   Easter.     His  party  was   attacked  "W^th 
great  fury  by  the  Indians,  and  instead  of  finding 
his  fountain  of  youth  he  received  a  wound  in.  the 
thigh  from   a  flint  arrow,  which  caused   hinci  to 
abandon  the  enterprise  and  retreat  to  Cuba,  wlxete 
he  died  after  prolonged  suffering. 

Proof  was  already  at  hand  that  Florida  wa^=3  tiot 
an  island,  for  in  1519  Alvarez  de  Pineda  ha(^^  i^*^ 
lowed  that   coast  as  far  as  the  site  of  Tan^*ip*^ 

^  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  ii.  lib.  z. ;   of .  Oviedo,  pt  i.  li       •*>•  ** 
cap.  XT. 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        487 

in  Mexico,  where  he  found  Cortes  and  his  men  in 
the  course  of  their  preliminary  wanderings  before 
founding  Vera  Cruz.     Pineda  then  turned  back, 
and  after  a  while  entered  the  mouth  of  ptne^at.  ji*- 
the  Mississippi,  which  he  called  Kio  de  Siippi^* 
Santo   Espu'itu.      He    seems   to    have  ^^^^' 
been  the   first  European  to  sail  upon   this  great 
river.     How  far  he  ascended  it  is  not  clear,  but 
he  spent  six  weeks  upon  its  waters  and  its  banks, 
trading  with  the   Indians,  who   seemed   friendly 
and  doubtless  laboured  under  the  usual  first  im- 
pression as  to  the  supernatural  character  of  the 
white  men.     Pineda  said  that  he  saw  one  consider- 
able Indian  town  and  no  less  than  forty  hamlets, 
and  that  the  Indians  wore  gold  ornaments.^ 

This  voyage  increased  the  interest  in  explora- 
tion to  the  northward,  and  another  cause  now  be- 
gan to  operate  in  the  same  direction.  When  the 
remnant  of  Magellan's  expedition  returned  to 
Spain  in  1522,  after  its  three  years'  voyage,  it  first 
began  to  be  dimly  realized  in  Europe  that  there 
was  an  immense  ocean  between  Mundus  Novus 
and  Asia.  It  now  became  an  object  to  find  ways 
of  getting  past  or  through  this  barrier  of  land 
which  we  now  call  America,  in  order  to  make  the 
voyage  to  Asia.  In  1525  Garcia  de  Loaysa  was 
sent  by  the  Spanish  government  to  the  sti»ait  of 
Magellan,  and  arrived  there.  Early  in  1526  one 
of  Loaysa's  ships  was  caught  by  a  storm  in  the 

^  See  Nayarrete,  ColeccioUy  torn.  iii.  pp.  147-153 ;  Herrera, 
deo.  IL  lib.  x.  cap.  xviii. ;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  v.  cap.  i.  In  his 
"visit  to  Tampico,  Pineda  was  preceded  by  Diepo  de  Camarg-o, 
who  sailed  thither  in  1518.  See  Las  Casas,  Hist,  de  las  Indias, 
torn.  iv.  p.  466. 


488  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Atlantic,  near  the  strait,  and  driven  southward  as 
far  as  Cape  Horn,  but  this  fact  did  not 

Cape  Horn.  ^  , 

attract  general  attention.  The  voyage 
of  Magellan  did  not  end  the  controversy  between 
Spain  and  Portugal  as  to  the  0¥aier8hip  of  the 
Moluccas,  for  their  longitude  was  variously  reck- 
oned. Did  they  lie  west  or  east  of  the  meridian 
antipodal  to  Pope  Alexander's  dividing  line  on 
the  Atlantic?  With  the  best  of  intentions,  the 
problem  of  longitude  was  in  those  days  very  diffi- 
cult, and  a  discrepancy  of  a  thousand  miles  or 
more  between  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  reckon- 
ings was  likely  enough  to  occur,  even  had  there 
been  no  bias  on  the  part  of  the  reckoners.  As  it 
was,  there  was  no  hope  of  agreement  between  the 
two  powers,  except  through  some  political  com- 
promise. In  1524  the  question  was  submitted 
congreasof  to  what  is  kuowu  as  the  Congress  of 
^^^  Badajos,  an  assembly  of  cosmographers, 

pilots,  and  lawyers,  including  such  famous  names 
as  Ferdinand  Columbus  and  Sebastian  Cabot, 
with  Estevan  Gomez,  Sebastian  Elcano,  Di^o 
Ribeiro,  and  othei*s.  "  They  were  empowered  to 
send  for  persons  and  papers,  and  did  in  reality 
have  before  them  pilots,  papal  bulk,  treaties,  royal 
grants  and  patents,  log  books,  maps,  charts,  globes, 
itineraries,  astronomical  tables,  the  fathers  of  the 
church,  ancient  geographies  and  modem  geogra- 
phers,  navigators  with  their  compasses,  quadrants, 
astrolabes,  etc.  For  two  months  they  fenced, 
ciphered,  debated,  argued,  protested,  discussed, 
grumbled,  quarrelled,  and  almost  fought,  yet  they 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        489 

could  agree  upon  nothing."  ^  The  congress  broke 
up  without  any  definite  result,  and  Spain  retained 
her  hold  upon  the  Spiceries.  The  Philippine 
archipelago,  which  equally  with  the  Moluccas  lies 
on  the  Portuguese  side  of  the  dividing  line,  re- 
mains in  Spanish  hands  to  this  day.  Byri;  in  1529 
Charles  Y.  ceded  his  claim  upon  the  Moluccas  to 
Portugal  for  350,000  gold  ducats.  His  original 
intention  was  merely  to  grant  a  long  lease,  but  by 
some  oversight  no  precise  period  was  mentioned, 
and  the  lease  was  suffered  to  become  perpetuaL 
In  1548  the  emperor  wap  iu*ged  by  his  legal  ad- 
visers to  recall  the  lease,  but  would  not ;  whereat 
^^  some  marvelled  and  others  grieved,  but  all  held 
their  peace."  ^ 

Now  since  the  Portuguese  used  their  own  route 
across  the  Indian  ocean  to  the  Spiceries,  many 
years  elapsed  before  much  attention  was  paid  to 
L  BoutC  exl^o^ity  of  South  An^eriJ  The 
next  person  to  see  Cape  Horn  was  Sir  Francis 
Drake  in  1578,  and  the  first  person  to  sail  around 
it  was  the  Dutch  navigator  Schouten  van  Horn, 
after  whom  it  was  named.  This  was  not  until 
1616. 

It  was  the  excessive  length  of  the  voyage  from 
Europe  to  Asia  by  this  southwestern  route  that 
prevented  activity  in  this  direction.  SaUors  began 
tiying  to  find   shorter  routes.     As  it  was  now 

^  Sterens,  HUtorical  and  Gtoffraphiad  XoUs,  p.  42.  ^  Esta- 
Tieroa  muchog  dias  minuido  globos,  cartas  y  relaciones,  y  alegando 
eada  qual  de  so  derecho,  y  porfiando  terribilissimaineDte/*  Go- 
lDa^^  Hutoria  general  de  las  IndicUj  Antwezp,  1554,  f ol.  131  veno. 

*  QuilleiiuBd's  Magdlan,  p.  Id 


490  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

proved  that  there  was  a  continuous  coast-line  all 
saarchfora  *^®  ^^J  ^^00^  the  strait  of  Magellan 
pSi^TiW-  to  the  St.  John's  river  in  Florida,  one 
'^-  immediate  effect  of  Magellan's  voyage 

was  to  turn  people's  attention  to  the  northward 
in  the  hof^e  of  finding  a  northwest  passage  &om 
Europe  to  Asia.  A  most  pathetic  and  thrilling 
story  is  that  of  the  persistent  search  for  the 
Northwest  Passage,  kept  up  for  330  years,  and 
gradually  pushed  farther  and  farther  up  among 
Arctic  ice-floes,  until  at  length  in  1854  the  pas- 
sage was  made  from  Bering  strait  to  Davis  strait 
by  Sir  Eobert  McClure.  For  more  than  a  century 
after  Magellan  did  navigators  anxiously  scan  the 
North  American  coast  and  sail  into  the  mouths  of 
great  rivers,  hoping  to  find  them  straits  or  channels 
leading  into  the  western  ocean;  for  it  began  to 
be  plain  that  this  coast  was  not  Asia,  but  a  barrier 
in  the  way  thither,  and  until  long  inland  expedi- 
tions had  been  made,  how  was  anybody  to  know 
anything  about  the  mass  of  the  northern  conti- 
nent, or  that  it  was  so  many  times  wider  than 
Central  America  ? 

The  first  of  these  navigators  was  Lucas  Yasqnez 
d' Ayllon,  who  came  up  in  1524  from  Hispaniola 
and  tried  the  James  river  and  Chesapeake  bay. 
Not  finding  a  northwest  passage,  but  liking  the 
country,  he  obtained  a  grant  of  it  from  Charles  V., 
and  in  1526  began  to  build  a  town  called  San  Mi- 
guel, about  where  the  English  founded 
ony  on  jamee    Jamcstown  eiffhtv-one  years  afterward. 

riTttr,  1026.  o     j  j 

Negro    slaves    were    employed   by  the 
Spaniards   in   this  work,   and    this   would   seem 


TEE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        491 

to  be  the  first  instance  of  slave  labour  on  the 
part  of  negroes  within  the  territory  since  covered 
by  the  United  States.  Ayllon  had  600  people 
with  him,  both  men  and  women,  besides  100 
horses  ;  and  Antonio  Montesino  accompanied  him 
as  missionary  preacher.  If  this  enterprise  had 
succeeded,  the  future  course  of  American  history 
might  have  been  strangely  modified.  But  Ayllon 
died  of  a  fever,  and  under  the  combined  effects  of 
hunger  and  sickness,  internecine  quarrels,  negro 
insurrection,  and  attacks  from  the  Indians,  the 
little  colony  soon  succumbed;  and  of  the  sur- 
vivors the  greater  part  were  shipwrecked  on  the 
way  back  to  Hispaniola.  Antonio  Montesino  was 
sent  in  1528  to  Venezuela,  where  he  disappears 
from  history.  When  or  where  he  died  we  do  not 
know,  save  that  in  the  register  of  the  Dominican 
monastery  of  San  Estevan,  in  Salamanca,  against 
the  honoured  name  of  Antonio  Montesino  there  is 
written  in  some  unknown  hand  this  marginal  note, 
Ohilt  martyr  in  Indiis^  "  died  a  martyr  in  the  In- 
dies," which  must  probably  mean  that  he  was  some- 
where slain  by  poor  stupid  red  men  unable  to  rec- 
ognize their  best  friends. 

While  Ayllon  was  losing  his  own  life  and  those 
of  his  people  on  the  bank  of  the  James  river,  an- 
odier  navigator  was  searching  for  a  new  route  for 
flie  ships  of  Charles  V.  to  the  Moluccas.  In  the 
course  of  the  year  1525  Estevan  Gomez,  voyage  of 
the  pilot  who  had  so  basely  deserted  Gomez^isss. 
Magellan,  coasted  from  Labrador  to  Florida,  tak- 
ing notice  of  Cape  Cod,  Narragansett  bay.  and 
the  mouths  of  the  Connecticut,  Hudson,  and  Dela- 


492  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

ware  rivers.  The  comment  of  Peter  Martyr  upon 
this  voyage  of  Gomez  is  very  signiiieant,  as  illus- 
trating the  small  favour  with  which  such  voyages 
as  those  of  the  Cabots  and  the  first  of  Vespucius 
had  been  regarded.  ^^  Stephanus  Gomez,  .  .  . 
neither  finding  the  straight,  nor  Gaitaia  [Cathay] 
which  he  promised,  returned  backe  within  tenn 
mouethes  after  his  departure.  I  always  thought 
and  presupposed  this  good  man's  imaginations 
were  vayn  and  friuolous.  Yet  wanted  he  no  suf- 
frages and  voyces  in  his  fauour  and  defence.  Not- 
withstanding he  foimd  pleasant  and  profitable 
countries,  agreeable  with  our  parallels  and  d^rees 
of  the  iK)le.  .  .  .  But  what  need  haue  we  of  the^e 
things  which  are  common  with  all  the  people  of 
Europe  ?  To  the  South,  to  the  South  for  the  great 
and  exceeding  riches  of  the  Equinoctiall :  they 
that  seek  riches  must  not  go  vnto  the  cold  and 
frosen  North."  ^ 

Gomez  seems  to  have  been  preceded  on  these 
coasts  by  more  than  one  navigator  sailing  in  the 
service  of  France.  We  have  already  observed 
Norman  and  Breton  sailors  taking  their  share  in 
the  fisheries  upon  the  banks  of  Newfoundland 
from  the  beginning  of  the  century.^     Francis  I.  of 

^  Martyr,  dec.  viii.  cap.  x. ;  Ilerrera,  dec.  iii.  lib.  viii.  cap.  viii. ; 
Gomara,  cap.  xl. ;  Oviedo,  cap.  x.  In  Diego  Ribeiro's  map,  made 
in  1529,  the  regions  about  Virginia  are  called  '*  land  of  Ayllon," 
and  the  regions  from  New  Jersey  to  Khode  Island  are  called 
**  land  of  Estevan  Gomez.''  Ilie  name  given  by  Gomez  to  what 
was  afterwards  called  Hudson's  river  was  Kio  de  San  Antonio. 
See  De  Costa,  Sailing  Directions  of  Henry  Hudson,  Albany,  ISOd, 
p.  44. 

-  For  Lory's  attempt  to  found  a  colony  at  Cape  Breton  in  1518| 
see  Sixte  Le  Tac,  Ui^oire  chronologique  de  la  Nouuelle  France^ 
pp.  40,  58. 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        498 

Firance  manifested  but  slight  reverence  for  Pope 
Alexander  VI.  and  his  bulls.  According  to  Bemal 
Diaz  he  sent  word  to  his  great  rival  Charies  V., 
asking  him  by  what  right  he  and  the  king  of  Por- 
tugal undertook  to  monopolize  the  earth.  Had 
our  first  father  Adam  made  them  his  sole  heirs  ? 
If  so  it  would  be  no  more  than  proper  for  them 
to  produce  a  copy  of  the  will ;  and  meanwhile  he 
should  feel  at  liberty  to  seize  upon  all  he  could 
get.  Among  the  corsairs  active  at  that  time  in 
the  French  marine  was  one  known  to  the  Span- 
iards as  Juan  Florin  or  Florentin.  His  name  was 
Giovanni  da  Verrazano,  and  he  seems  to  have  been 
bom  about  1480  at  Florence,  where  his  family  had 
attained  distinction.  In  1523  he  captured  the 
treasure  on  its  way  from  Cortes,  in  Mexico,  to  the 
Emperor  Charles  V. ;  and  early  in  the  next  year 
he  crossed  the  Atlantic  with  one  ship  voyageofve,. 
and  about  fifty  men.  The  first  land  '**^°' 
sighted  was  probably  near  Cape  Fear,  in  North 
Carolina.  From  that  point  Verrazano  skirted  the 
coast  northward  as  far  as  latitude  50^,  and  seems 
to  have  discovered  the  Hudson  river,  and  to  have 
landed  upon  Rhode  Island  and  at  some  point  not 
6ir  from  the  mouth  of  the  Piscataqua.  Little  or 
nothing  is  known  of  Verrazano  after  this  voyage.^ 

^  It  has  been  doubted  whether  Verrazano  ever  made  any  such 
voyage.  See  Murphy,  The  Voyage  of  Verrazano,  New  York, 
1875.  Mr.  Murphy ^B  conclusions  have  not  been  generally  sus- 
tained. For  further  discussions  see  Brevoort,  Verrazano  the 
Navigator y  New  York,  1874;  Asher's  Henry  Hudson,  London, 
1860,  pp.  197-228 ;  Kohl's  Discovery  of  Maine,  chap.  viii. ;  De 
Coata,  Verrazano  the  Explorer,  New  York,  1881,  with  a  full 
bibliographical  note ;  Winsor,  Narr.  and  Crit.  Hist.,  iv.  1-30. 


494  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

It  has  been  said  that  he  was  caught  by  the  Span- 
iards in  1527  and  hanged  for  piracy,  and  there  is 
another  story  that  he  was  roasted  and  eaten  by 
the  Indians  in  that  year,  but  all  this  is  quite 
doubtfuL 

The  staggering  blows  inflicted  upon  Francis  I. 
by  Charles  Y.  in  the  Italian  campaign  of  1525  pre- 
vented any  further  activity  in  foUowinf: 

PftrlJAi*  Anil 

Robenrai,  up  the  voyagc  of  Vcrrazauo.  Ten  years 
later  came  Jacques  Cartier,  who  explored 
the  lower  portion  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  and 
foimd  an  Iroquois  town,  named  Hoehelaga,  on  an 
eminence  which  he  called  Montreal.  Before  Cham- 
plain's  arrival,  seventy  years  later,  the  Iroquois  had 
been  driven  from  this  region.  In  1540-43  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  by  the  Sieur  de 
Eoberval,  aided  by  Cartier,  to  establish  a  French 
colony  in  Canada.  Connected  with  this  expedition 
was  the  voyage  of  the  pilot  Jehan  Allefonsee,  of 
Saintonge,  in  which  he  seems  to  have  visited  the 
coast  between  Cape  Cod  and  Cape  Ann.^  Little 
more  was  done  by  the  French  in  this  direction 
until  the  time  of  Champlain. 

The  maps  made  about  this  time  reflect  the  strong 
desire  for  a  northwest  passage  to  Cathay  in  the  ex- 
treme slimness  which  they  assign  to  a  part  of  the 
North  American  mainland.  In  1529  Hieronimo 
da  Yerrazano  made  a  map  in  which  he  undertook 
to  represent  his  brother's  discoveries ;  ^  and  upon 

1  For  a  disouBsion  of  this  voyajje,  see  De  Costa,  Northmen  in 
Maine,  pp.  80-122 ;  and  his  chapter  in  Winsor,  Narr,  and  Crit. 
Hitt.,  vol.  iy.  chap.  ii. ;  see  also  Weise,  Discoveries  of  America, 
New  York,  1884,  chap.  xi. 

^  For  a  reduced  copy  of  the  map  see  Winsor,  Narr.  and  CriL 


THE  WOBK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.         495 

this  map  we  find  Florida  connected  witli  the  Verra- 
zano  region  by  a  slender  isthmus.  The  xhe  *•  sea  of 
imaginary  sea  washing  the  western  shore  ^®*"'***»»*>-" 
of  this  isthmus  was  commonly  known  as  the  Sea  of 
Verrazano.  Possibly  the  notion  may  have  arisen 
from  a  misinterpretation  of  some  small  neck  of  land 
with  a  bay  or  sound  beyond  it  somewhere  upon  the 
Atlantic  coast  explored  in  the  voyage  of  1524.  But, 
in  whatever  misconception  it  may  have  had  its  ori- 
gin, the  Sea  of  Verrazano  continued  to  be  repro- 
duced on  maps  for  many  years,  imtil  inland  explo- 
ration expelled  it.  Two  interesting  illustrations, 
toward  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  show 
respectively  the  wet  and  the  dry  theories  of  the  re- 
lation of  the  North  American  coast  to  Asia.  The 
first  of  these  maps,  made  at  Venice  in  1536,  by 
Baptista  Agnese,  cuts  off  the  hypothetical  unvisited 
coasts  to  the  south  of  Peru  ^  and  to  the  west  and 
north  of  Mexico  with  a  dotted  line,  but  gives  the 
equally  hypothetical  coast  of  the  Verrazano  sea  as 
if  its  existence  were  quite  undoubted.  According 
to  this  map  the  voyage  to  Cathay  by  the  Verrazano 
route  would  be  at  least  as  simple  as  the  voyage  to 
Peru  by  way  of  Panama.  A  very  different  view  is 
given  upon  the  "  Carta  Marina  "  by  Jacopo  Gas- 
taldi,  published  in  the  Ptolemy  of  1548.  Here 
Florida  and  Mexico  appear  as  parts  of  Asia,  and 
the  general  conception  is  not  unlike  that  of  the 
globe  of  Orontius  Finseus ;  but  the  Verrazano  sea 

Hisi.t  !▼«  26.    The  orig^iual  is  in  the  College  of  the  Propaganda  at 
Rome. 

^  The  coast  from  the  strait  of  Magellan  northward  to  Pern  was 
first  explored  by  Alonso  de  Camargo  in  1530-40. 


496 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 


appears  to  the  north  of  Florida.  Here,  theref  orE-e^ 
it  does  not  afford  a  ready  means  of  access  to  China, 
but  to  some  northern  ocean  washing  the  shores  of 
an  "  Upper  India,"  concerning  which  it  may  l>e 
suspected  that  the  map-maker's  ideas  were  not  of 
the  clearest. 


*  ^ •.,. 


.••' 


^••F«? 


%.  ^^^— ^ 


Sketch  of  Ag^new's  map,  Venice,  1588.^ 

From  this  chart  of  Gastaldi's  the  position  of  ^^^ 
Yerrazano  sea  naturally  leads  us  to  the  map     *^1 

1  Key:  —  **  1.  Terra  de  baoalaos.  2.  {dotted  line)  El  yiag^  ^* 
France.  8.  {dotted  line)  £1  viage  de  Pern.  4.  {dotted  linO  ^ 
Tiago  a  maluche.  5.  Tenustetan.  6.  lucatan.  7.  Nombr9  ^* 
dios.  8.  Panama.  9.  La  proTintia  del  penu  10.  La  pro'v^^*^ 
de  ohinagna.  11.  S.  paulo.  12.  Mnndus  novns.  13.  Brazil-  ^ 
Rio  de  la  plata.  15.  BH  Streto  de  f erdinando  de  Magall^**^^  . 
Winsor,  Narr.  and  CriU  Hist.,  iv.  4Qi 


THE  WOBK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES. 


497 


Sebastian  Miinster,  published  in  the  Ptolemy  of 
1540.  Though  thus  published  eight  years  earlier 
than  Gastaldi,  this  map  represents  in  some  respects 


Gastaldi's  Carta  Marina,  1548.^ 

a  later  development  toward  the  more  correct  views 
lieralded  by  Mereator.*    There  is  an  approach  to- 

^  Ket  :  — **  1.  Nonregia.  2.  Laponia.  3.  Qronlandta>  4.  Tierra 
cTel  Labrador.  5.  Tierra  del  Bacalaos.  6.  La  Florida.  7.  Nneva 
Hiapania.  8.  Mexico.  9.  India  Superior.  10.  La  China.  11. 
Gai^^es.  12.  Samatra.  13.  Java.  14.  Panama.  15.  Mar  del  Snr. 
16.  £1  BrasiL  17.  £1  Pern.  18.  Strecho  de  Fernanda  Mag^alhaes. 
19.  Tierra  del  Fuego."  Winsor,  Narr,  and  Crit  Hist,  iv.  43. 
Observe  that  Gastaldi  retains  the  medisval  notion  of  Greenland 
•8  connected  with  Norway. 

*  See  above,  p.  153. 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 


I  Rednoed  from  tlie  ilietch  U 


THE  WOBK  OF  TWO  CEXTCBIES. 


^ 


Visur,  .Vorr.  oaif  Otf.  Hul^  ir.  U. 


£1 


600  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

ward  the  conception  of  the  western  hemisphere  as 
a  distinct  and  integral  whole,  though  the  Pacific  is 
still  very^arrow  and  Zipangri  (Japan)  still  comes 
very  near  to  Mexico,  as  in  the  Stobnicza  map  of 
1512.  The  reader  will  also  observe  the  New  World 
with  its  Catigara,  the  significant  mark  of  a  Ptole- 
maic pedigree,  although  now  quite  torn  asunder 
from  Asia.  Pizarro  and  his  pilots  would,  I  suspect, 
have  laughed  somewhat  rudely  at  the  promontory  on 
which  this  Catigara  is  placed,  —  an  imaginary  frag- 
ment of  Asia  that  happened  to  stay  on  this  side 
when  the  tear  came.  As  to  the  Verrazano  sea, 
when  we  compare  it  upon  this  map  and  that  of  Ag- 
nese,  as  well  as  upon  Michael  Lok's  map  more  than 
forty  years  later,  we  can  imderstand  how  it  was 
that  even  as  late  as  the  seventeenth  century  such 
a  navigator  as  Henry  Hudson  should  try  to  get 
through  his  river  into  the  Pacific. 

The  only  means  of  correcting  these  inadequate 
and  fluctuating  views  were  to  be  found  in  expedi- 
tions into  the  interior  of  the  continent,  and  here 
the  beginnings  were  slow  and  painfuL  The  first 
Spaniard  to  avail  himseK  of  Pineda's  discoveries 
was  Panfilo  de  Narvaez,  the  man  who  had  been 
Expedition  of  ^cut  to  Mcxico  to  arrcst  and  supersede 
Nary»M.  Cortcs,  and  had  so  ingloriously  failed  in 
that  attempt.  Pineda's  mention  of  gold  ornaments 
on  the  Mississippi  Indians  was  enough  to  set  Nar- 
vaez In  motion.  If  there  was  so  much  glory  and 
plimder  in  one  direction,  why  not  in  another  ?  He 
obtained  permission  to  conquer  and  govern  all  the 
northern  coast  of  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  and  started 


THE  WOBK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        501 

from  Cuba  in  March,  1528,  with  four  ships,  carry- 
ing 400  men  and  80  horses.  Landing  at  Apalache 
bay,  he  made  a  bootless  excursion  into  the  country, 
and  on  his  return  to  the  seashore  was  tmable  to  find 
his  ships,  which  were  sailing  to  and  fro  on  the  watch 
for  him.  After  travelling  westward  on  foot  for  a 
month,  Narvaez  and  his  men,  with  desperate  exer- 
tions, built  five  frail  boats  and  pursued  their  jour- 
ney by  water.  After  six  weeks  of  coasting  they 
came  to  the  mouth  of  a  river  so  great  that  it  fresh- 
ened the  sea  so  that  they  coidd  drink  the  sea-water. 
At  the  mouth  of  this  river,  the  Mississippi,  two  of 
the  boats,  one  of  them  containing  Narvaez  himself, 
were  capsized,  and  all  their  company  lost.  The 
other  three  boats  were  thrown  ashore,  probably 
somewhere  in  eastern  Texas,  and  such  of  their 
crews  as  escaped  starvation  were  murdered  by  the 
natives.  Four  men,  however,  the  treasurer  Cabeza 
de  Yaca,  with  two  Spanish  comrades,  Dorantes  and 
Castillo,  and  a  negro  called  Estevanico,  or  '^  Little 
Steve,"  had  a  wonderful  course  of  adventures. 
They  were  captured  by  different  parties 

-  -r     T  1  •111*  •  AdTenture*  of 

of  Indians  and  earned  about  in  various  cabeu  de 

Vaca. 

directions  in  the  wilderness  of  western 
Louisiana  and  eastern  Texas.  Cabeza  de  Vaca 
achieved  some  success  as  a  trader,  bartering  shells 
and  wampum  from  the  coast  for  ^^  flint  flakes,  red 
elay,  hides  and  skins,  and  other  products  of  the  re- 
gi<His  inland."  ^     A  reputation  early  acquired  ss  a 

^  The  jonzney  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  his  comrades  is  ably  de- 
•eribed  and  their  route  traced  by  Mr.  Bandelier.  Contributions  to 
the  Hutory  of  the  Southwestern  Portion  of  the  United  States,  Cam- 
Vridge,  1800  (Papers  of  the  Arch^Bolo^cal  Institute  of  America 
«—  Amerieaa  Series.    V.   Hemenway  Southwestern  Archcological 


602  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA: 

medicine-man  or  sorcerer  proved  helpful  to  him, 
and  may  very  likely  have  preserved  his  life.  After  rm.^ 
strange  vicissitudes  and  terrible  sufferings  the  four  tkj 
comrades  were  thrown  together  again  at  some  point  ^rJ 
west  of  the  Sabine  river  in  Texas.  Circumstances  ^ss 
happened  to  give  them  all  a  reputation  for  skilful 
sorcery,  and  by  degrees  they  made  use  of  this  sin- 
gular power  to  induce  the  parties  of  Indians  with 
them  to  move  in  certain  directions  rather  than 
others.  With  a  vague  hope  of  finding  the  seashore 
they  kept  in  the  main  a  westerly  course,  and  pres- 
ently their  fame  grew  to  such  a  height  that  Indians 
came  to  them  in  throngs  bringing  gifts.  Proceed- 
ing in  this  way  they  presently  crossed  the  Rio 
Pecos  near  its  junction  with  the  Rio  Grande ;  then 
ascending  the  latter  river  they  made  their  way 
across  Chihuahua  and  Sonora  to  the  gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  then  turning  southward  at  length  in 
May,  1536,  reached  Culiacan,  then  an  extreme 
frontier  of  the  Spaniards,  after  this  wonderful  pil- 
grimage of  nearly  2,000  miles. 

The  reports  of  this  journey  aroused  much  inter- 
est among  the  Spaniards  in  Mexico.    Not  less  than 
four  attempts  at  exploration  upon  the  Pacific  coasts 
had  been  made  by  Cortes,  but  not  much  had  been 
accomplished  beyond  the  discovery  of  Lower 
f  omia.    Now  there  were  reasons  that  made  the  u 
Legend  of  the  of  an  inland  expedition  to  the  northwaidE^*^ 
Seven  Cities     ^^^^  attractive.     There  was  a  traditionciK'^s 

afloat  in  Europe,  that  on  the  occasion  of  the  con—.^'isn- 
quest  of  the  Spanish  peninsula  by  the  Arabs  in  iho^^^me 
eighth  century,  a  certain  bishop  of  Lisbon  with  :s        3 
goodly  company  of  followers  took  refuge  upon 


i 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        603 

island  or  group  of  islands  far  out  on  the  Sea  of 
Darkness,  and  founded  seven  cities  there.     With 
the  fabulous  Antilia,  which  was  commonly  regarded 
as  the  island  of  the  Seven  Cities,  we  have  already 
made  acquaintance.     Its  name,  slightly  modified 
into  "  Antilles,"  came  to  be  applied  to  the  West 
Indies.     Its  seven  cities  were  curiously  transferred 
into  the  very  heart  of  the  American  continent. 
Among  the  Nahuatl  tribes  there  was  a  legend  of 
Chicomoztoc,  or  the  Seven  Caves  from  which  at 
some  period  in  the  past  their  ancestors  issued.    As 
soon  as  the  Spaniards  got  hold  of  this  legend  they 
contrived  to  mix  up  these  Seven  Caves  with  their 
Seven  Cities.     They  were  supposed   to  be  some- 
where to  the  northward,  and  when  Cabeza  de  Vaca 
and  his  comrades  had  disclosed  the  existence  of 
such  a  vast  territory  north  of  Mexico,  it  was  re- 
solved to  search  for  the  Seven  Cities  in  that  direc- 
tion.    The  work  was  entrusted  to  Fray  Marcos  of 
Nizza,  or  Nice,  as  we  now  caU  it  since  it 
has  been  "reimited"  —  that  is  the  or- 
thodox French  way  of  expressing  it  —  to  France. 
He  was  a  Franciscan  monk  of  great  ability,  who 
hsA  accompanied  Pizarro  on  the  first  march  to  Ca- 
xamarca  to  meet  Atahualpa.  He  had  afterward  gone 
to  Quito  and  thence  seems  to  have  accompanied  AI- 
Tarado  on  his  return  to  Guatemala.    He  had  lately 
found  his  way  to  Mexico,  and  was  selected  by  the 
great  viceroy  Antonio  de  Mendoza  to  go  and  find 
the  Seven  Cities.^    He  was  attended  on  the  journey 

^  Like  80  many  other  trayeUers  and  explorers  Fray  Marcos  has 
l>een  charged  with  falsehood ;  but  his  case  has  been  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  cleared  np  in  Bandelier's  excellent  nionc^raph 
already  cited,  Contributions  to  the  History  of  the  Southwestern  Par- 
tion  of  the  United  States. 


604  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

by  the  negro  Estevanico  and  a  few  Pima  Tndiaiis  who 
had  been  educated  at  Mexico ;  and  their  reception 
by  the  natives  along  the  route  was  extremely  hos- 
pitable. At  Matape,  an  Indian  village  in  Sonera, 
they  heard  definite  news  of  a  country  situated 
thirty  days'  march  to  the  northward,  where  there 
were  seven  large  cities,  ^^  with  houses  of  stone  and 

lime,  .  •  •  the  smallest  ones  of  two 
citieBof         stories  and   a  flat  roof,  and   others  of 

three  and  four  stories,  and  that  of  the 
lord  with  five,  all  placed  together  in  order ;  and  on 
the  door-«ills  and  lintels  of  the  principal  houses 
many  figures  of  turquoise  stones  .  .  .  and  [it  was 
said]  that  the  people  of  these  cities  are  very  well 
clothed,"  etc.^  The  name  of  the  first  of  these 
cities  was  said  to  be  Cibola.  And  from  that  time 
forth  this  became  a  common  name  for  the  group, 
and  we  hear  much  of  the  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola. 

These  were  the  seven  pueblos  of  Zufii,  in  New 
Mexico,  of  which  six  were  still  inhabited  at  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  name  Cibola  was 
properly  applied  to  the  group,  as  it  referred  to  the 
whole  extent  of  territory  occupied  by  the  Zufiis. 

The  surviving  pueblo  which  we  know 

to-day  as  Zuni  will  probably  serve  as  an 
excellent  sample  of  the  pueblo  towns  visited  by 
the  Spaniards  in  their  first  wanderings  in  North 
America.  As  Fray  Marcos  drew  near  to  it  he 
heard  much  of  the  power  and  glory  of  Cibola,  and 
began  to  feel  that  his  most  romantic  anticipations 
were  about  to  be  verified ;  but  now  came  his  first 
misfortune  on  this  journey,  and  it  was  a  sharp  one; 

^  Bandelier,  cp.  cit.  p.  130. 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        505 

Ijitlierto  the  white  man  and  the  black  man  had 
l^een  treated  with  the  reverence  due  to  supemat- 
iiral  beings,  or  to  persons  who  at  least  were  mighty 
vdzards.     But  at  Kiakima,  the  first  of  the  Zuni 
pueblos,  the  negro's  "  medicine  "  was  not  accepted. 
Estevanico  travelled   some    miles   in   advance   of 
Fray  Marcos.     When  he  arrived  at  the  first  of  the 
cities  of  Cibola,  flaunting  the  turquoises  and  the 
handsome  Indian  g^rls,  with  whom  he  had  been  pre- 
sented in  the  course  of  the  journey,  —  much  to  the 
disgust  of  the  Franciscan  friar,  —  the  elders  and 
chiefs  of  the  pueblo  would  not  grant  him  admit- 
tance.   He  was  lodged  in  a  small  house  outside  the 
enclosure,  and  was  cautiously  catechised.     When 
he  announced  himself  as  the  envoy  and  forerun- 
ner of  a  white  man,  sent  by  a  mighty  prince  be- 
yond the  sky  to  instruct  them  in  heavenly  things, 
the  Zuni  elders  were  struck  with  a  sense  Murder  of 
of  incongruity.     How  could  black  rep-  Sd'^^tof 
resent  white,  or  be  the  envoy  and  fore-  ^^^  Marc<*. 
runner  of   white?      To  the  metaphysics   of   the 
middle  status  of  barbarism  the  question  wore   a 
very  uncanny  look,  and  to  the  common  sense  of 
the  middle  status  of  barbarism  the  self-complacent 
Estev&nico  appeared  to  be  simply  a  spy  from  some 
chieftain  or  tribe  that  wanted  to  conquer  the  Zuiiis. 
A  Cortes  might  easily  have  dealt  with  such  a  situ- 
ation, but  most  men  would  consider  it  very  uncom- 
fortable, and   so   did   poor   silly  "Little    Steve." 
While   the   elders  were    debating  whether    they 
should  do  reverence  to  him  as  a  wizard,  or  butcher 
him  as  a  spy,  he  stole  out  of  his  lodging  and  sought 
safety  in  flight ;  and  this  act,  being  promptly  de- 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES,         507 

tiected,  robbed  him  of  all  dignity  and  sealed  his 
fate.  A  hue  and  cry  went  after  him,  and  an  arrow 
Boon  found  its  way  to  his  heart.  The  news  of  this 
catastrophe  checked  the  advance  of  Fray  Marcos. 
His  Indian  comrades  were  discouraged,  and  the 
most  he  could  do  was  to  keep  them  with  him  while 
he  climbed  a  hill  whence  he  could  get  a  Pisgah 
sight  of  the  glories  of  Cibola.  After  he  had  ac- 
complished this,  the  party  returned  with  all  possi- 
ble haste  to  Culiacan,  and  arrived  there  in  August, 
1539,  after  an  absence  of  five  months. 

As  an  instance  of  the  tenacious  vitality  of  tra- 
dition, and  its  substantial  accuracy  in  dealing  with 
a  very  simple  and  striking  fact,  it  is  interesting  to 
find  that  to  this  day  the  Zunis  remember  the  fate 
of  Estevanico.  In  one  of  the  folk -tales  taken 
down  by  Mr.  Gushing  from  the  lips  of 
Znfii  priests,  it  is  said  that  "  previous  to  ^^'  ***« 
the  first  coming  of  the  Mexicans  (the 
Zniii  Indian  c^ls  all  the  Spanish-speaking  people 
Mexicans),  a  hlack  Mexican  made  his  appearance 
at  die  ZuSi  village  of  Kiakima.  He  was  very  greedy, 
vora/raoos,  and  bold,  and  the  people  killed  him  for 
it.  After  his  death  the  Mexicans  [i.  e.  Spaniards] 
made  their  appearance  in  numbers  for  the  first 
time,  and  made  war  upon  the  Zunis,  conquering 
them  in  the  end."  ^ 

^  Bandelier,  cp,  at.  p.  154.  I  think  I  never  spent  a  pleasanter 
afternoon  than  once  at  Manchester-by-the-sea,  with  Mr.  Cashing 
and  three  Zufii  priests  who  had  come  thither  for  the  snmmer  to 
assiat  him  in  his  work.  These  Indians  of  the  middle  status  told 
me  their  delightful  yams  in  exchange  for  Norse  and  Russian 
folk-tales  which  I  told  them,  and  Mr.  Gushing  served  as  a  lively 
and  dramatic  interpreter.    These  Zu&is  were  very  handsome  men, 


508  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

It  was  indeed  only  the  next  year  tliat  the  Span* 
iards  made  their  appearance,  accompanied  by  their  *^  m 
terrible  horses.  Six  months  after  the  return  of  ^oi 
Fray  Marcos  to  Culiacan,  an  army  of  300  Span- 
2zpe<iitJon  of  i^*^  ^^nd  800  Mexican  Indians,  under 
coronado.  Fraucisco  de  Coronado,  started  for  Ci- 
bola. They  visited  the  Zuni  and  Moqui  pueblos, 
discovered  the  grand  caiion  of  the  Colorado,  and 
marched  northward  as  far  as  a  village  called  Qui- 
vira,  concerning  the  site  of  which  there  is  some 
diversity  of  opinion.  The  farthest  point  reached 
by  Coronado  may  have  been  somewhere  near  the  ^^^e 
boundary  between  the  states  of  Kansas  and  N( 
braska,  or  perhaps  farther  west  at  some  point  oi 
the  south  fork  of  the  Platte  river.^  He  passed  quite^^^^te 
beyond  the  semi-civilized  region  of  the  pueblos,  an( 
was  disgusted  at  finding  Quivira  only  a  rude  vil— - 
lage  of  thatched  wigwams  instead  of  the  fine  cil 
for  which  he  had  been  looking.  The  supply  ofc^z:^  of 
maize  and  bison-meat  prevented  the  famine  whietir^i^ch 
so  commonly  overwhelmed  such  long  expeditions 
and  Coronado  took  excellent  care  of  his  men-MiK:^ 
Many  subordinate  explorations  were  imdertaken  bj^^J'  hy 
detached  parties,  and  a  vast  extent  of  country 
visited.  At  length,  in  the  spring  of  1542,  th< 
army  returned  to  Mexico,  greatly  vexed  and  cl 


loor 


abounding  in  kindliness  and  droll  humour,  while  their  refine*^^^*"*"^"^ 
grape  of  manner  impressed  me  as  hardly  inferior  to  that  of  Japa^«^  ^P^' 
nese  gentlemen.     The  combination  of  this  civilized  desnewaooMM' 
-with  the  primeval  naivete  of  their  thoughts  was  in  a  high 
piquant  and  interesting. 

^  A  detailed  account  of  Coronado^s  expedition  is  given  in 
chapter  on  '*  Early  Explorations  of  New  Mexico,*'  by  H. 
Haynes,  in  Winsor,  Narr.  and  Crit,  Hist.f  voL  iL  chi^  Yii. 


the 
if. 


i 


TEE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        609 

grined  at  having  discovered  no  gold  nor  any 
wealthy  kingdom,  and  this  disappointment  found  a 
vent  in  anathemas  vented  upon  Fray  Marcos,  which 
have  ever  since  been  echoed  by  historians. 

Not  only  in  the  far  west,  but  also  in  the  east, 
did  the  experience  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca  serve  to 
stimulate  the  desire  to  explore  the  interior  of  the 
continent.  To  Fernando  de  Soto,  no  less  than  to 
the  viceroy  Mendoza,  it  seemed  as  if  in  such  a  wide 
extent  of  territory  there  must  be  king-  Expedition  of 
doms  worth  plundering.  We  have  al-  ^^' 
ready  met  with  Soto  serving  under  Pizarro  in 
Peru.  In  1537  he  was  appointed  governor  of 
Cuba,  and  was  authorized  to  conquer  and  occupy 
the  country  embraced  witliin  the  patent  of  Narvaez. 
He  started  from  Havana  in  May,  1539,  with  nine 
vessels,  containing  570  men  and  223  horses.  Land- 
ing about  thirty  miles  west  of  the  bay  of  Juan 
Ponce,  he  marched  laboriously  as  far  northward  as 
the  Savannah  river,  and  then  turned  westward. 
The  golden  country  for  which  he  was  seeking  did 
not  appear,  but  the  Indians  on  the  route  were  very 
hostile.  Though  Soto  had  roundly  blamed  Pizarro 
for  his  treatment  of  Atahualpa,  his  own  conduct 
toward  Indians  seems  to  have  been  at  once  cruel 
and  foolish.  The  Spaniards  had  to  fight  their  way 
across  the  country,  and  the  tribes  of  the  Creek 
confederacy  were  no  mean  antagonists.  At  a  pal- 
isaded village  called  Mauvila,  a  few  miles  above 
the  junction  of  the  Tombigbce  and  Alabama 
rivers,^  there  was  a  desperate  fight,  in  the  autumn 

^  It  was  probably  Mauvilay  or  Maubila^  that  gave  the  name 
Mobile  to  the  riyer  formed  by  the  junction  of  these  two.  See 
Charleyoiz,  Journcd  histc/riqwy  p.  452. 


510  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

of  1541,  in  which  Soto  lost  170  of  his  men,  while 
from  the  Spanish  estimate  of  2,500  as  the  loss  of 
the  Indians  it  would  perhaps  be  safe  to  strike  off 
a  cipher.^  In  December  the  Spaniards  reached 
the  Yazoo,  and  spent  the  winter  in  that  neighbour- 
hood. In  the  spring  they  crossed  the  Mississippi 
at  the  lowest  of  the  Chickasaw  bluffs,  and  ascended 
the  western  bank  of  the  great  river  as  far,  perhaps, 
as  New  Madrid.  Finding  no  signs  of  El  Dorado 
in  that  direction,  they  turned  southward.  On  the 
21st  of  May,  1542,  Soto  died  of  a  fever,  and  was 
buried  in  the  Mississippi.  His  men,  commanded 
by  Luis  de  Moscoso,  built  boats  in  which  they  de- 
scended the  river  and  coasted  westward  along  the 
shores  of  Texas.  On  the  10th  of  September, 
1543,  the  survivors  of  the  expedition,  311  in  num- 
ber, reached  Tampico.^ 

The  work  of  f  oimding  colonies  in  North  America 
languished.  In  1546-49  a  party  of  Dominican 
friars,  led  by  the  noble  Luis  de  Barbastro,  who 

^  The  later  experiences  of  American  backwoodsmen  in  fighting 
these  formidable  barbarians  should  make  us  distrust  all  stories  of 
battles  attended  witli  great  disparity  of  loss.  If  Soto  killed  250 
of  them  without  losing  more  than  170  of  his  own  men,  he  came 
off  remarkably  well.  Compare  Roosevelt's  Winning  of  the  West, 
vol.  i.  p.  8i3  ;  vol.  ii.  123. 

2  An  excellent  account  of  Soto's  expedition  by  one  of  the  sur- 
vivors was  translated  into  English  in  IGll,  by  Richard  Hakluyt, 
and  is  now  among  the  publications  of  the  Hakluyt  Society :  —  Tfte 
Discovery  and  Conquest  of  Florida,  London,  1851.  A  brief  rela- 
tion by  Luis  de  Riedma  is  appended  to  this  book.  Garcilasso  de 
la  Veg^  also  wrote  a  narrative  (La  Florida  del  Ynca^  Lisbon, 
1005)  based  upon  reports  of  survivors,  but  uncritically  treated. 
See  also  Pickett's  Ilisiori/  of  Alabama,  pp.  2.5-41.  In  this  con- 
nection the  reader  will  find  much  that  is  instructive  in  Jouea^i 
Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians^  New  York,  1873. 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES,        511 

liad  been  with  Las  Casas  in  Tuzulutlan,  made  an 
attempt  to  found  a  missionary  settle-  Dominiom.  in 
ment  in  Florida,  but  they  were  all  mas-  ^^^^^^^ 
sacred  by  the  Indians.  The  work  was  then  taken 
up  by  Guido  de  Labazares  and  Tristan  de  Luna, 
under  the  auspices  of  Luis  de  Velaseo,  the  humane 
and  enlightened  viceroy  of  New  Spain.  Their 
little  colony  was  barely  rescued  from  destruction 
by  Angelo  de  Villafane  in  1561,  and  in  the  au- 
tumn of  that  year  Philip  II.  announced  that  there 
would  be  no  further  attempts  to  colonize  that  coun- 
try. As  no  gold  was  to  be  found,  the  chief  reason 
for  occupying  Florida  was  to  keep  the  French  from 
getting  hold  of  it,  and  it  was  thought  there  was 
no  danger  of  the  French  coming  for  the  present. 

Curiously  enough,  however,  just  about  this  time 
the  French  did  come  to  Florida.  Two  French  at- 
tempts at  colonization  grew  directly  out  of  the 
wars  of  religion.  The  illustrious  Coligny  was  one 
of  the  first  men,  if  not  the  very  first,  to  conceive 
the  plan  of  founding  a  Protestant  state  in  America. 
In  1555  a  small  expedition,  mider  Nicholas  de 
Villegagnon,  was  sent  to  the  coast  of  Hugi,enouhi 
Brazil.  A  landing  was  made  on  the  ^'■**"* 
site  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  huts  were  built,  and  earth- 
works thrown  up.  A  large  reinforcement  of  Hu- 
guenots, with  several  zealous  ministers  from  Ge- 
neva, arrived  on  the  scene  in  1557.  But  fierce 
theological  disputes  combined  with  want  of  food 
to  ruin  the  little  commimity.  ViUegagnon  re- 
turned to  France  to  carry  on  his  controversy  with 
the  clergy,  and  the  next  year  the  miserable  sur- 


512  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

vivors  of  the  colony  were  slaughtered  by  the  Pop. 
tuguese.^ 

Coligny's  next  attempt  was  made  upon  the  coast 
of  Florida,  under  the  lead  of  Jean  Ribaut,  a  hardy 
Huguenot  of  Dieppe.  On  May  day,  1562,  Ribaut, 
,  with  a  small  advance  party,  reached  the  St.  John's 
river,  whence  they  coasted  northward  as  far  as  the 
spot  to  which  they  gave  the  name  Port  Royal,  in 
what  is  now  South  Carolina.     Here  they  built  a 

smaU  fortress,  and  thirty  men  were  left 
Fio?^;         in  charffe  of  it  while  Ribaut  returned  to 

France  to  bring  out  his  colony.     For  a 
while  the  little  garrison  Kved  on  the  hospitality  of 
the  Indians,  imtil  the  latter,  who  had  at  first  re- 
vered them  as  children  of  the  Sun,  began  to  despise  ^ 
them  as  sturdy  beggars.     Then  as  hunger  began            * 
to  pinch  them,  they  mutinied  and  slew  their  ccwn-           ^ 
mander.      The   time  wore  on,  and   nothing  was           * 
heard  of  Ribaut.     At  last,  in  sheer  despair,  they 
contrived  to  patch  together  a  crassy  brigantine  and 
set  sail  for  France.     Their  scanty  stock  of  food 
gave  out  while  they  were  in  mid-ocean,  and  one  of 
the  party  had  been   devoured  by  his   comrades, 
when  they  were  picked  up  by  an  English  cruiser 
and  carried  ofif  to  London. 

The  return  of  Ribaut  had  been  delayed  by  the 
breaking  out  of  war  between  tlie  Huguenots  and 
the  Gruise  party ;  but  in  1563  the  truce  of  Amboise        * 

made  things  quiet  for  a  while,  and  in  the        ^ 

'**    following  year  a  new  expedition  set  out        - 

for  Florida,  under  the  leadership  of  Ribaut*s  friend        -i 

^  The  story  of  the  Huguenots  in  Brazil  is  fully  told  by  Lescaiw  • 

bot,  Histoire  de  la  NouvdLe  Frcmce,  Paris,  1G12,  li?re  iL 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        518 

ften^  de  Laudonni^re,  a  pious  and  valiant  knight 
ind  a  kinsman  of  Coligny.  This  company  was 
Qiucli  larger  and  better  equipped  than  the  former, 
but  there  was  an  essential  vice  in  its  composition. 
There  were  plenty  of  soldiers  and  gentlemen  un- 
used to  labour,  land  a  few  clever  mechanics  and 
tradesmen,  but  no  tillers  of  the  soil.  In  France, 
indeed,  the  rural  population  remained  wedded  to 
the  old  faith,  and  there  were  no  Protestant  yeomen 
as  in  England.  The  new  expedition  landed  at  the 
St.  John's  river,  and  built  a  fort  near  its  mouth, 
which,  in  honour  of  Charles  IX.,  was  called  Fort 
Caroline.  This  work  off  their  hands,  they  devoted 
themselves  to  injudicious  intrigues  with  the  Indian 
potentates  of  the  neighbourhood,  explored  the  coun- 
try for  gold,  and  sent  home  to  France  for  more 
assistance.  Then  they  began  to  be  mutinous,  and 
presently  resorted  to  buccaneering,  with  what  fatal 
consequences  will  presently  be  seen.  A  gang  of 
malcontents  stole  two  of  the  pinnaces,  and  set  out 
for  the  coast  of  Cuba,  where,  after  capturing  a 
small  Spanish  vessel,  they  were  obliged  to  go  ashore 
for  food,  and  were  thereupon  arrested.  Carried 
before  the  authorities  at  Havana,  they  sought  to 
make  things  right  for  themselves  by  giving  full 
information  of  the  settlement  at  Fort  Caroline, 
Emd  this  ill-omened  news  was  not  slow  in  finding 
its  way  to  the  ears  of  the  king  of  Spain.  It  came 
at  an  opportune  moment  for  Philip  II.  He  had  just 
found  a  man  after  his  own  heart,  Pedro  Menendez 
de  Aviles,  an  admirable  soldier  and  matchless  liar, 
1)rave  as  a  mastiff  and  savage  as  a  wolf.  This  man 
liad  persuaded  Philip  to  change  his  mind  and  let 


514  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

him  go  and  try  to  found  a  colony  in  Florida, 

by  the  Indians  might  be  converted  to  Christianity-" 

Just  as  Menendez  was  getting  ready  toc^-;^  to 


Menendez,  the  i»  tt  i 

LMt  of  the      start,  there  came  from  Havana  the  newg^^^'^s 

CruMulers* 

of  the  ill-fated  Laudonniere  and  his  en— 


terprise.  These  heretics  were  trespassers  on  the^-^^e 
territory  which  Holy  Church  had  assigned  to  the^-^ie 
Spanish  crown,  and,  both  as  trespassers  and 
heretics,  they  must  be  summarily  dealt  with.  Ru~. 
mour  had  added  that  Ribaut  was  expected  froi 
France  with  a  large  armament,  so  that  no  time 
to  be  lost.  The  force  at  Menendez's  disposal 
largely  increased,  ^d  on  the  29th  of  June,  1565. 
he  set  sail  from  Cadiz,  with  eleven  ships  and  moi 
than  1,000  fighting  men,  hoping  to  forestall  th( 
arrival  of  the  French  commander.  The  mood  ii 
which  Menendez  started  was  calculated  to  makf 
him  an  ugly  customer.  He  was  going  on  a  crusadi 
The  original  crusades  were  imdertaken  for  a  worthy, 
purpose,  and  helped  to  save  the  Cross  from  bein^^ 
subdued  by  the  Crescent.  But  after  a  while,  whei 
heresy  became  rife,  the  pope  would  proclaim  a  chblt^jbt^- 
sade  against  heretics,  and  a  bloody  affair  this  wa^^s^^*^ 
apt  to  be,  as  the  towns  of  southern  France  otlq^z^^^^^ 
had  reason  to  know.  We  may  fitly  call  Menende^^-Cdez 
the  Last  of  the  Crusaders. 

Things  had  fared  badly  with  the  colony  at  Foi«'^=^^<>^ 
Caroline.  Mutiny  had  been  checked  by  the  siui*:^^-*'-^" 
mary  execution  of  a  few  ringleaders,  but  faminr^^^  '^^ 
had  set  in,  and  they  had  come  to  blows  with  tlrti^"^^ 
Indians.  Events  succeeded  each  other  curiousl;^X^^^ij' 
On  the  8d  of  August,  in  the  depth  of  their  di£  -^Ji* 
tress,  Elizabeth's  doughty  sea-king  Sir  John  Ha^ 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.         515 

kins  touched  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John's,  gave 
them  food  and  wine,  and  offered  them  a  free  pas- 
sage to  France  in  his  own  ships,  and  on  Laudon- 
mere's  refusal  left  with  them  a  ship  with  which  to 
make  the  voyage  for  themselves  if  they  should  see 
fit.  On  the  28th  of  August  Ribaut  at  last  arrived 
with  seven  ships,  bringing  300  men  and  ample 
supplies.  On  the  4th  of  September,  toward  mid- 
night, appeared  the  Spanish  fleet  I 

The  squadron  of  Menendez  had  undergone  great 
hardships,  and  several  of  the  vessels  had  been 
wrecked.  Five  ships  now  arrived,  but  after  ex- 
changing defiances  with  the  French,  Menendez 
concluded  not  to  risk  a  direct  attack,  and  crept  off 
down  the  coast  until  he  came  to  the  site  Beginnings  of 
of  St.  Augustine.  Some  500  negroes  st.  Augu«tine. 
had  been  brought  on  the  fleet,  and  were  at  once 
set  to  work  throwing  up  entrenchments.  One  of 
the  French  ships,  hanging  in  the  rear,  had  taken 
note  of  these  proceedings,  and  hurried  back  to 
Fort  Caroline  with  the  information.  It  was  then 
decided  to  leave  Laudonnicre  with  a  small  force  to 
hold  the  fort,  while  Eibaut  by  a  sudden  naval  at- 
tack should  overwhelm  the  Spanish  fleet  and  then 
pounce  upon  the  troops  at  St.  Augustine  before 
their  entrenchments  were  completed.  This  plan 
seemed  to  combine  caution  with  boldness,  but  the 
treachery  of  wind  and  weather  defeated  it.  On 
the  10th  of  September  Ribaut  set  sail,  and  early 
next  morning  his  whole  fleet  bore  down  upon  the 
Spaniards.  But  before  they  could  come  to  action 
there  sprang  up  an  equinoctial  gale  which  drove 
the  French  vessels  out  to  sea,  and  raged  so  fiercely 


616  THE  DISCOVEBT  OF  AMERICA. 

for  several  days  as  to  render  it  morally  certain 
that,  wherever  they  might  be,  they  could  not  have 
efifected  a  return  to  their  fort.  It  was  now  the 
turn  of  Menendez  to  take  the  offensive.  On  the 
morning  of  the  17th,  with  the  storm  still  raging, 
he  started  forth,  with  500  men  and  a  couple  of 
Indian  guides,  to  force  his  way  through  the  forest. 
For  thrice  twenty-four  hours  they  waded  through 
swamps  and  forded  swollen  brooks,  struggling  with 
tall  grass  and  fighting  with  hatchets  the  tangled 
underbrush,  —  until  just  before  dawn  of  the  20th, 
drenched  with  rain,  covered  from  head  to  foot  with 
mud,  torn  with  briars,  fainting  with  hunger  and 
weariness,  but  more  than  ever  maddened  with  big-  — ^- 
otry  and  hate,  this  wolfish  company  swept  down  the  ^^^e 
slope   before  Fort  Caroline.     The  sur- — ^■ 


Sbraghter  of 

ttie  people  in    prfse  was  complctc,  and  the  defences,. 

Fort  Caroline.    ^-.-         .iiii  m*       t  . 

which  might  barely  have  suinced  againstct^ss^^ist 
an  Indian  assault,  were  of  no  avail  to  keep  out^jLM'^xA 
these  more  deadly  foes.  Resistance  was  short  andE>.c=K.BJ 
feeble.      Laudonniere  and  a  few  others  escai 


into  the  ^oods,  whence,  some  time  afterward,  thej^=^-^=ie; 
sought  the  shore,  and  were  picked  up  by  a  friendlj^XX^dl; 
ship  and  carried  home  to  France.  Of  those  who^ci^^^'^h 
staid  in  the  fort,  men,  women,  and  children,  to  ih^Mit^^ 
number  of  142,  were  slaughtered.  A  few  wer^^rK:^^"^' 
spared,  though  Menendez  afterward,  in  his  letteiK^^**^^^ 
to  the  king,  sought  to  excuse  himself  for  such  un-x:«^-«^^^ 
warranted  clemency. 

Meanwhile  the  ships  of  Jean  Ribaut  were  hope-^:>^^*P^ 
lessly  buffeting  the  waves.    One  after  another  theji^^^^'^J 
were  all  wrecked  somewhere  below  Matanzas  Inlets  ^^^-^^^ 
a  dozen  miles  south  of  St.  Augustine.    Most  of 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        617 

crews  and  troops  were  saved,  and,  collecting  in  two 
l>odies,  began  to  work  their  way  back  toward  Fort 
Caroline.  On  the  28th  of  September  the  first  body, 
some  200  in  number,  had  halted  at  Ma-  «,  . 

'  jnnt  massa* 

tanzas  Inlet,  which  they  had  no  means  of  c^  at  Matan- 

^  *f  sas  Inlet. 

crossing,  when  they  encountered  Me- 
nendez,  who  with  about  70  men  was  on  the  lookout 
for  them.  The  two  parties  were  on  opposite  sides 
of  this  arm  of  the  sea,  and  the  Spaniard  so  dis- 
posed his  force  among  the  bushes  that  the  enemy 
could  not  estimate  their  real  number.  A  boat  was 
then  sent  out,  and  three  or  four  French  oflficers 
were  decoyed  across  the  river  under  promise  of 
safety.  They  now  learned  that  their  fort  was  de- 
stroyed, and  their  wives  and  comrades  murdered. 
At  the  same  time  they  were  requested,  in  courteous 
terms,  to  lay  down  their  arms  and  entrust  them- 
selves to  the  clemency  of  Menendez.  Hard  as  it 
seemed,  starvation  stared  them  in  the  face  as  the 
only  alternative,  and  so  after  some  discussion  it 
was  deemed  most  prudent  to  surrender.  The  arms 
were  first  sent  across  the  river,  and  then  the  pris- 
oners were  brought  over,  ten  at  a  time,  each  party 
being  escorted  by  twenty  Spaniards.  As  each  party 
of  ten  arrived,  they  were  led  behind  a  sand-hill 
some  distance  from  the  bank,  and  their  hands  were 
tied  behind  their  backs.  A  great  part  of  the  day 
was  consumed  in  these  proceedings,  and  at  sunset, 
when  the  whole  company  of  Huguenots  had  thus 
been  delivered  defenceless  into  the  hands  of  their 
enemy,  they  were  all  murdered  in  cold  blood.  Not 
one  was  left  alive  to  tell  the  tale. 
A  day  or  two  later  Kibaut  himself,  with  350  men, 


518  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

his  entire  remaining  force,  arrived  at  the  inlet,  and 
found  Menendez  duly  ambushed  to  receive  him. 
Once  more  the  odious  scene  was  acted  out.     The 
Frenchmen  were  judiciously  informed  of  what  had 
been  done,  but  were  treated  with  much  courtesy, 
regaled  with  bread  and  wine,  and  coaxed 
ere  at  Matan.    to  Surrender.    This  time  there  was  a  dif- 
ference of  opinion.    Some  200  swore  they 
would  rather  be  devoured  by  the  Indians  than  trust^^^t 
to  the  clemency  of  such  a  Spaniard ;  and  they  con — .Mrm- 
trived  to  slip  away  into  the  forest.    The  remaining^^  M:i% 
160,  with  Eibaut  himself,  were  ferried  across  umrmi^rxi 
small  detaelunents,  disarmed  and  bound,  as  hacS^^vj^rad 
been  done  to  their  comrades,  and  when  all  had  beeirzK'^^^eu 
collected  together,  all  but  five  were  put  to  death^aJcJ^th. 
That  is  to  say,  five  were  spared,  but  besides  these.^>^ss3 
one  sailor,  who  was  not  quite  killed,  contrived  to^        ^ 
crawl  away,  and  after  many  adventures  returned  tc^:^    Jl  * 
France,  to  tell   the  harrowing  tale.      From  this 
sailor,  and  from  one  of  the  five  who  were 
we  get  the  French  account  of  the  affair.    The  Spanc:^.^^?* 
ish  account  we  have  from  Menendez  himself,  wh^.rf'"'"^i^'^ 
makes  his  official  report  to  the  king  as  coofly  as  s 
farmer  would  write  about  killing  pigs  or  chickensass 
The  two  accounts  substantially  agree,  except  as 
gards  the  promise  of  safety  by  which  the  Frenclwrl^^^^^ 
men  were  induced  to  suiTender.     Menendez  repre^^^'^^^P' 
sents  himself  as  resorting  to  a  pious  fraud  in  using  ^=*^^*" 
an  equivocal  form  of  words,  but  the  Frenchmai^-^-^-^^ 
declares  that  he  promised  most  explicitly  to  spar*'*^^-^^^^ 
them,  and  even  swore  it  upon  the  cross.     I  anc*^-^^  ^^ 
inclined   to  think  that   the   two  statements  mar-^^-^^V 
be  reconciled,  in  view  of  the  acknowledged 


i 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        619 

of  Menendez  and  all  his  kith  and  kin  as  adroit 
dissemblers.  After  all  said  and  done,  it  was  a 
foul  affair,  and  the  name  Matanzas,  which  means 
"  slaughterings,"  came  naturally  enough  to  attach 
itself  to  that  inlet,  and  remains  to  this  day  a  me- 
mento of  that  momentaiy  fury  of  a  New  World 
crusade. 

It  used  to  be  said  in  the  days  of  Philip  II.  that 
wherever  in  any  coimtry  there  tiuned  up  a  really 
first-class  job  of  murder,  you  might  be  sure  the 
king  of  Spain  had  something  to  do  with  it.     The 
St.    Bartholomew  affair,   for   example, 
was  a  case  in  point.     The  job  done  by 
Menendez,  though  small  in  scale,  was  certainly  a 
thorough  one,  for  it  ended  the  Huguenot  colony  in 
Horida.     Of  the  remnant  of  Ribaut's  force  which 
did  not  surrender,  some  disappeared  among  the  In- 
dians.   Some  were  captured  by  Menendez,  and  the 
lives  of  these  he  spared,  inasmuch  as  from  the  glut 
of  ■  slaughter  some  of  his  own  men  recoiled   and 
called  him  cruel.    From  his  master,  however,  Me- 
nendez received  hearty  approval  for  his  ferocity, 
relieved  by  a  slight  hint  of  disapprobation  for  his 
sM^ant  and  tardy  humanity.    "  Tell  him,"  said  Philip, 
**  that  as  to  those  he  has  killed,  he  has  done  well, 
and  as  to  those  he  has  saved,  they  shall  be  sent  to 
the  galleys." 

This  massacre  of  Frenchmen  by  Spaniards  was 
perpetrated  in  a  season  of  peace  between  the  two 
governments.  It  was  clearly  an  insult  to  France, 
inasmuch  as  the  Huguenot  expeditions  had  been 
undertaken  with  the  royal  commission.  But  the 
court  of  Catherine  de'  Medici  was  not  likely  to  call 


520  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

PUlip  II.  to  account  for  anything  he  might 
it  into  his  head  to  do.  Redress  was  not  far  off,  baci^v  i 
it  came  in  a  most  unexpected  way  and  at  the  h  imliiw  i  ji 
of  a  private  gentleman. 

Dominique  de  Gourgues  was  a  Gascon  of  noble^^^e 
birth,  who  had  won  high  distinction  in  the  ItaliaiMiixi^ 
wars.     It  is  not  clear  whether  he  was  Catholic  oi^or 
Dominique  de  Protcstaut,  but  he  borc  a  grudge  agains*-.^5st 
Gourgues.        ^^  Spaniards,  by  whom  he   had  onc^^:^iae 
been  taken   prisoner  and   made  to  work  in  ihi^^mrAe 
galleys.     He  made  up  his  mind  to  avenge  the  fat^;^%^te 
of  his  fellow-countrymen ;  it  should  be  an  eye  for^i^-or 
an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth.     So  he  sold  hh^Si^Mi^iB 
family  estate  and  borrowed  money  besides,  and 
ted  up  three  small  ships  and  enlisted  about  200 
In  August,  1567,  he  sailed  to  the  Gxdnea  coslsH^^s-^^ 
armed  with  a  royal  commission  to  kidnap  negroefi^t^^^es. 
After  an  autumn  and  winter  of  random  cruising  h*M:Mi  he 
crossed  the  ocean,  and  it  was  when  approaching. 
Cuba  that  he  first   revealed  to  his  foUowere 
purpose.     Little  persuasion  was  required.     WitF-^^^^ 
eager  enthusiasm  they  turned  their  prows  to^ 
the  Land  of  Easter,  and  soon  came  to  anchor 
few  miles  to  the  north  of  the  Spanish  fort. 
Indians  were  overjoyed  at  their  arrival.     At  firsrrx'-S^ 
they  had  admired  Menendez  for  his  craft  and  HmJ^^  tb 
thoroughness  with  which  he  disposed  of  his  en^-c:^^^^^ 
mies.    But  they  had  since  found  ample  cause  to  rm^'^M:     •  ri 
gret  their  change  of  neighbours.    On  the  arrival  c^    -t*J  ^ 
Gourgues  they  flocked  to  his  standard  in  such  nuir:K-«~-^i® 
bers  that  he  undertook  at  once  to  surprise  ain«^-^3M2a 
overwhelm  the  Spanish  garrison  of  400  men.    TW^^Mlbe 
march  was  conducted  with  secrecy  and  despatc^i^-^^^^ 


i  l** 


THE  WOBK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES,        621 

The  Spaniards,  not  dreaming  that  there  could  be 
such  a  thing  as  a  Frenchman  within  three  thousand 
miles  of  Florida,  had  grown  careless  about  their 
watch,  and  were  completely  surprised.  At  mid- 
day, just  as  they  had  finished  their  dinner,  the 
French  and  Indians  came  swarming  upon  them 
from  all  points  of  the  compass.  A  wild  panic  en- 
sped,  the  works  were  carried  and  the  defenders 
slaughtered.  Of  the  whole  Spanish  force  not  a  man 
escaped  the  sword,  save  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
whom  Gourgues  reserved  for  a  more  ignominious 
fate,  and  to  point  a  moral  to  this  ferocious  tale. 
At  the  capture  of  Fort  Caroline,  it  is  said  that 
Menendez  hanged  several  of  his  prisoners  to  trees 
near  by,  and  nailed  above  them  a  board  with  the 
inscription,  —  "  Not  as  to  Frenchmen, 

Quid  pro  quo, 

but  as  to  Lutherans."  Gourgues  now 
led  his  fifteen  or  twenty  surviving  captives  to 
these  same  trees,  and  after  reading  them  a  severe 
lecture  hanged  them  all,  and  nailed  above  them  the 
inscription,  —  "  Not  as  to  Spaniards,  but  as  to  liars 
and  murderers."  The  fort  was  then  totally  de- 
molished, so  that  not  a  beam  or  a  stone  was  left  in 
place.  And  so,  having  done  his  work  in  a  thorough 
and  business-like  way,  the  redoubtable  avenger  of 
blood  set  sail  for  France. 

In  the  matter  of  repartee  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
Gourgues  was  successful.  The  retort  would  have 
had  still  more  point  if  Menendez  had  been  one  of 
the  hanged.  But  —  unfortunately  for  the  require- 
ments of  poetic  justice  —  the  principal  liar  and 
murderer  was  then  in  Spain,  whence  he  returned  a 
couple  of  years  later,  to  rebuild  his  fort  and  go  on 
converting  the  Indians. 


V 


622  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

These  sanguinary  events  were  doubtless  of 
historic  importance.      Unpromising  as  was  the 

ginning  of  the  Florida  colony,  it 
porunce  of      no  morc  so  than  the  earliest  attempts  tco^:^    to 

settle  Canada  and  Louisiana.  In  th^^cfhe 
brief  glimpses  that  we  get  of  Eibaut  we  can  diseeriL-B_  "-■:  m 
the  outlines  of  a  steadfast  character  that  would  havc^^^^^ve 
been  likely  to  persevere  until  a  solid  result  had  becnzK:  ':>cn 
accomplished.  So  Menendez  seems  to  have  thought^^zC^ht 
when  he  wrote  to  the  king  that  by  killing  this 


he  believed  himself  to  have  dealt  a  heavier  blow  tc^^c^  to 
France  than  if  he  had  beaten  an  army.  No  doubt^cJTmbt 
the  afiFair  of  Matanzas  removed  what  might  hav^-'v^^Ave 
become  an  additional  and  serious  obstacle  in  th^M^d^ie 
way  of  the  English,  when  France  and  Englano.M:^:-*nd 
came  to  struggle  for  the  mastery  over  North  Amer:m:^^-*er- 


ica.^ 

As  for  Spain  herself,  owing  to  causes  presentlJ^^X^i*^*^^ 
to  be  mentioned,  she  had  about  reached  the  limi-E-*=^^nut 
of  her  work  in  the  discovery  and  conquest  of  AmeEK:^^-*®^- 
ica.  For  the  brief  remainder  of  our  story  we  hav*^^^-^^^® 
to  deal  chiefly  with  Frenchmen  on  land  and  witE:^  mr^th 
Englishmen  on  sea.  The  work  of  demonstrating -CiBi-i^^g 
the  character  of   the  continental  mass  of  NortD;:t""'^^^rth 

^  The  story  of  the  Hngiienots  in  Florida  is  superbly  told  IrM"     ^^  ^J 
Francis  Parkman,  in  his  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  >For/»^"'«<^<^*»» 
Boston,  1865.     The  chief  primary  sources  are  Ribant^s  Whoo^^^^^^ 
and  True  Discovery  of  Terra  Florid  ay  englished  and  reprinted  10'     M:^d  by 
Hakluyt  in  1582 ;  Basanier,  Vhistoire  notable  de  la  Floride,  ParrrK-#»'*ari8» 
1586 ;  Challeux,  Discours  de  Vhistoire  de  la  Floride,  Dieppe,  156»^E>^^  566; 
La  reprinse  de  la  Floride  par  le  Cappitaine  Gourgues,  printed       .fc^-^  in 
the  coUection  of  Temaux-Compans ;  the  Spanish  chaplain  M^  ^X^t^Meih 
doza^s  narrative,  contained  in  the  same  collection ;  and  the  Ms^SL      MS, 
letters  of  Menendez  to  Philip  II.,  preserved  in  the  archives      wwi^  of 
Seville  and  first  made  public  by  Mr.  Parkman. 


i 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        623 

America  and  its  internal  configuration  was  mostly 
done  by  Frenchmen.    The  expeditions  of  Soto  and 
Coronado  had  made  a  goodly  beginning,  r^^^,^^  ^^ 
but  as  they  were  not  followed  up  they  J^^geo^ro^' 
did  not  yield  so  much  increase  of  geo-  Smo*****"* 
graphical  knowledge  as  one  might  sup- 
pose.    Two   interesting  maps  made   in   England 
early  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century 
represent  respectively  the  wet  and  dry  styles  of 
interpreting  the  facts  as  they  looked  to  cartogra- 
phers at  that  time.     The  map  dedicated  to  Sir 
Philip  Sidney  by  Michael  Lok,  and  pubKshed  in 
Hakluyt's  "  Divers  Voyages  "  in  1582,^  retains  the 
*'Sea  of  Verrazano,"  but  gives  enough  continent 
to  include  the  journeys  of  Soto  and  Coronado.    In 
one  respect  it  is  interesting  as  showing  just  about 
the  extent  of  North  America  that  was  known  in 
1582,  ninety  years  after  the  first  crossing  of  the 
Atlantic  by  Columbus.     The  reader  will  observe 
that  the  unagumry  islands  of  BrazU  and  St.  Bran- 
don  have  not  disappeared,  but  are  shifted  in  posi- 
tion, while  the  Frislanda  of  the  Zeno  narrative  ap- 
pears to  the  south  of  Greenland.     A  conspicuous 
feature  is  the  large  island  of  Norombega  (equiva- 
lent to  New  England  with  Acadia),  separated  from 
-the  mainland  by  what  is  apparently  the  Hudson 
yiver  figured  as  a  strait  communicating  with  the  St. 
Xiawrence.2 

Beyond  the  limits  of  the  known  land,  and  in  the 

*  The  copy  here  given  is  photog^phed  from  the  reduced  copy 
Sn  WinBor,  Narr.  and  Crit.  Uist.,  iv.  44. 

*  It  was  very  commonly  helieved  at  that  time  that  tlie  river 
discovered  hy  Verrazano  and  afterward  to  be  named  for  Hudson 

such  astnut. 


nc^is 

■ySir    iji 

U 

iLLVsnU  VIR0.DOMJN0  PHILITPO  SCDN^BJ 
mCHAlL  lot  avis  lONriNENSB 
MAKC   CHARTAMDEDICAEAr-'fi- 

^     €f*     -^ 

lasssfr'  '^i 

?~Lr 

I 

^ 

'  /p' 

% 

i 

"^t 

^ 

\j 

^m 

'^^SCaW^ 

im 

% 

^Js-^Tc  I   A   1/ 

/] 

K 

i.S» 

626 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 


regions  which  therefore  might  be  either  sea  or  land 
for  aught  that  Michael  Lok  could  tell,  his  map 
places  a  hypothetical  ocean.  On  the  map  presented 
to  Queen  Elizabeth  in  1580  by  Dr.  John  Dee,  and 
now  preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  it  is  just  the 
other  way.^  Beyond  the  limits  reached  by  Coro- 
nado  and  Soto  and  Cartier,  this  map  indicates  a  vast 
stretch  of  unvisited  continent,  and  in  its  general 
outline  it  seems  to  come  nearer  to  an  adequate  con- 
ception of  the  dimensions  of  North  America  than 
any  of  its  predecessors.^  It  is  noticeable,  too,  that 
although  this  is  a  ^^  dry  "  map  there  is  no  indication 
of  a  connection  between  America  and  Asia.  The 
western  hemisphere  was  emerging  in  men's  minds 
as  a  distinct  and  integral  whole.  Though  people 
generally  were  not  as  yet  enlightened  to  this  extent,' 
there  were  many  navigators  and  geographers  who 
were. 


^  The  sketch  here  giyen  is  taken  from  Winsor  (iv.  08)  after  Di; 
Eohl's  copy  in  his  Washington  Collection. 
^  The  legends  on  Dee*8  map  are  as  follows :  — 


1.  EstotOand. 

2.  Drogeo. 

3.  BeliBle. 

4.  0.  de  Rmo. 
6.  C.  de  Bryton. 

6.  8.  Brandan. 

7.  Norombega. 

8.  R.  de  Oamaa. 

9.  R.  de  San  Antonla 

10.  0.  de  Arenaa. 

11.  C.  de  St.  Ingo. 

12.  0.  de  S.  John. 


14.  C.  de  8.  Roman. 
16.  C.  de  8U  Hellena. 

16.  La  Bermuda. 

17.  LaEmperada. 

18.  Terra  Florida. 

19.  Rio  de  Splrito  Santa 

20.  RiodePalmaa. 

21.  Mexico. 

22.  8.  Tlioma. 

23.  C.  California. 

24.  Ta  de  CedrL 

25.  Ydelreparo. 


13.  C.  de  terra  falgar. 
'  Thomas  Morton,  of  Merrymount,  in  his  New  English  Canaarit 
Amsterdam,  1637,  writes  of  New  England,  "what  part  of  this 
mane  continent  may  be  thought  to  border  upon  the  Coontry  of 
the  Tartars,  it  is  yet  unknowne.'' 


528  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

The  most  striking  difference  between  Dr.  Dee's 
map  and  that  of  Louis  Joliet,  to  which  we  shall 
presently  invite  the  reader's  attention,  is  in  the 
knowledge  respecting  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Mis- 
sissippi rivers.  Dee  fails  to  give  the  information 
obtained  by  Soto's  expedition.  He  interprets  the 
St.  Lawrence  correctly  as  a  river  and  not  a  strait, 
as  many  were  still  inclined  to  regard  it.  But  this 
interpretation  was  purely  hypothetical,  and  included 
no  suspicion  of  the  existence  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
for  in  1580  no  one  had  as  yet  gone  above 

Work  of  the  ,  -    -»»  i         rrn  i 

great  French  thc  sitc  of  MoutreaL  Ihc  cxploration 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Mississippi  val- 
leys, with  the  determination  of  their  relations  to 
each  other,  was  the  most  important  inland  work 
that  was  done  in  the  course  of  American  discovery. 
It  was  done  by  a  succession  of  great  Frenchmen, 
among  whose  names  those  of  Champlain  and  La 
Salle  are  the  most  illustrious ;  and  it  was  a  result 
of  the  general  system  upon  which  French  coloniza- 
tion in  America,  so  different  from  English  coloni- 
zation, was  conducted. 

It  was  not  until  the  wars  of  religion  in  France 
had  been  brought  to  an  end  by  Henry  IV.  that  the 
French  succeeded  in  planting  a  colony  in  America. 
About  that  time  they  had  begun  to  feel  an  interest 
in  the  fur  trade,  the  existence  of  which  had  been 
disclosed  through  transactions  with  Indians  on  the 
Samuel  de  coast,  and  suudry  attempts  were  made  at 
champwn.  fomiding  a  permanent  colony.  This  was 
at  length  effected  through  the  persistent  energy 
and  self-sacrificing  devotion  of  Samuel  de  Cham* 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        529 

plain,  who  made  a  settlement  at  Quebec  in  1608 
and  became  the  founder  of  Canada.  Champlain 
was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  Frenchmen  of  his 
day,  —  a  beautiful  character,  devout  and  high- 
minded,  brave  and  tender.  Like  Columbus  and 
Magellan,  like  Livingstone  in  our  own  time,  he 
had  the  scientific  temperament.  He  was  a  good 
naturalist,  and  has  left  us  the  best  descriptions  we 
have  of  the  Indians  as  they  appeared  before  they 
had  been  affected  by  contact  with  white  men. 
Champlain  explored  our  northeastern  coast  quite 
carefully,  and  gave  to  many  places  the  names  by 
which  they  are  still  known.^  He  was  the  first 
white  man  to  sail  on  the  beautiful  lake  which  now 
bears  his  name,  and  he  pushed  his  explorations  so 
far  inland  as  to  discover  lakes  Ontario  and  Huron. 
It  was  the  peculiar  features  of  French  policy  in 
colonization  that  led  to  this  long  stride  into  the 
interior  of  the  continent.  Those  features  were  de- 
veloped during  the  lifetime  of  Champlain  and 
largely  under  the  influence  of  his  romantic  person- 
ality. The  quaint  alliance  of  missionary 
and  merchant,  the  black-robed  Jesuit  French  coioni- 
and  the  dealer  in  peltries ;  the  attempt 
to  reproduce  in  this  uncongenial  soil  the  institu- 
tions of  a  feudalism  already  doomed  in  the  Old 
World ;  the  policy  of  fraternization  with  the  In- 
dians and  participation  in  their  everlasting  quar- 
rels ;  the  policy  of  far-reaching  exploration  and  the 
occupation  of  vast  areas  of  territory  by  means  of 
well-chosen  military  posts ;  all  these  features,  which 

^  As,  for  example,  Mount  Desert,  which  retains  a  vestige  of  ita 
old  French  pronunciation  in  acoentii^  the  final  syllable. 


680  THE  DI8C0VSRY  OF  AMJBRICA. 

give  to  early  Canadian  liistoiy  such  faacinating  in- 
terest,^ were  by  no  means  accidentaL  They  were 
parts  of  a  deliberate  system  originating  cUefty  with 
Champlain,  and  representing  the  romantic  notions 
of  empire  that  were  a  natural  outgrowth  of  the 
state  of  French  society  in  the  days  of  Henry  lY. 
For  Champlain  to  succeed  at  all,  it  became  neces- 
sary for  him  to  accept  the  alliance  of  the  Jesuits, 
although  his  own  sympathies  were  with  the  national 
party  in  France  rather  than  with  the  Spanish  and 
ultramontane  policy  of  the  followers  of  Loyola.  As 
omms  which  another  condition  of  success  he  deemed 
Fmc??nto  i^  necessary  to  secure  the  friendship  of 
the  Ulterior.     ^^  Algonquiu  trfbcs  in  the  valley  of  the 

St.  Lawrence,  and  with  this  end  in  view  he  aided 
them  in  defeating  the  Mohawks  near  Ticonderoga 
in  July,  1609.  The  result  was  that  permanent  al- 
liance of  the  Five  Nations,  first  with  the  Dutch 
settlers  in  the  valley  of  the  Hudson  and  afterward 
with  the  English,  which  is  one  of  the  great  car- 
dinal facts  of  American  history  down  to  1768.  The 
deadly  hostility  of  the  strongest  Indian  power  upon 
the  continent  was  a  feature  of  the  situation  with 

^  It  is  full  of  romantio  incident,  and  aboimds  in  inBtmetiTe 
tnftterial  for  the  philosophical  student  of  history.  It  has  been 
fortunate  in  finding  such  a  narrator  as  Mr.  Francis  Parknum,  who 
is  not  only  one  of  the  most  piotoresqne  historians  since  ^e  days 
ol  Herodotus,  but  likewise  an  investigator  of  tibe  highest  order 
for  thoroughness  and  aeeuraoy.  The  proeenee  of  a  sound  politieal 
philosophy,  moreover,  is  felt  in  all  his  works.  The  reader  who 
wishes  to  pursue  the  subject  of  French  exploration  in  North 
America  should  begin  with  Mr.  Parkman*s  Picnetrs  of  France^ 
Jesuits  in  North  America,  and  La  Salle,  A  great  mass  of  bib* 
Uographical  information  may  be  found  in  WioMr,  Narr,  and  OriL 
Hist,,  voL  ir.  diape.  iiL-vL 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTTTBIE8.        581 

wbich  the  French  had  to  reckon  from  the  very 
start,  and  the  consequences  were  for  them  in  many 
ways  disastrous.^  But  what  here  concerns  us  is 
chiefly  the  effect  of  these  circiuustances  in  draw^ 
ing  the  French  at  once  into  the  interior  of  the  con-* 
tinent.  The  hostile  Iroquois  could  and  sometimes 
did  effectually  cut  off  the  fur  trade  between  the 
northwestern  forests  and  the  lower  St.  Lawrence ; 
so  that  for  conmiercial  reasons  it  was  necessary  for 
the  French  to  occupy  positions  flanking  the  Long 
House,  and  this  military  necessity  soon  carried 
their  operations  forward  a.  far  J  Lake  Huron. 
As  religion  and  commerce  went  hand  in  hand,  H 
was  there  that  those  heroic  Jesuits,  Br^beuf  and 
Lalemant,  did  their  noble  work  and  suffered  their 
frightful  martyrdom ;  and  it  was  in  the  destruction 
of  this  Huron  mission  that  the  Iroquois  dealt  their 
first  staggering  blow  against  the  French  power  in 
America. 

Somewhat  later,  when  it  became  apparent  that  at 
sundry  centres  between  the  seashore  and  the  Alle- 
ghany mountains  a  formidable  English  power  was 
growing  up,  French  schemes  involving  military 
control  of  the  interior  of  the  continent  assumed 
still  larger  dimensions,  and  a  far-reaching  work  of 
exploration  was  undertaken  by  that  man  Robert  de  ia 
of  iron,  if  ever  there  was  one,  Robert  ^^*^  * 
Cavelier  de  La  Salle.  As  Champlain  had  laid  the 
foundations  of  Canada  and  led  the  way  to  the 

^  For  example,  it  was  the  Iroqnoia  who  in  1689  defeated  the 
Boheme  of  Louis  XIV.  for  captnring  New  York  and  secnringf  to 
the  French  the  valley  of  the  Hadson.  The  success  of  that  scheme 
might  hare  changed  the  whole  current  of  American  history  and 
prtrented  the  formation  of  our  Federal  Union. 


682  THE  mSCOVEBY  OF  AMERICA. 

Great  Lakes,  so  La  Salle  completed  the  disoovety 
of  the  Mississippi  and  carried  the  empire  of  France 
in  theory  from  the  crest  of  the  Alleghanies  to  that 
of  the  unvisited  Eocky  mountains.  In  the  long  in- 
terval since  1542  the  work  of  Soto  and  Coronado 
had  ahnost  lapsed  into  oblivion.  Of  the  few  who 
remembered  their  names  there  were  fewer  who 
could  have  told  you  where  they  went  or  what  they 
did,  so  that  the  work  of  the  French  explorers  frcHii 
Canada  had  all  the  characteristics  of  novelty.  In 
1639  Jean  Nicollet  reached  the  Wisconsin  river, 
and  heard  of  a  great  water  beyond,  which  he  sup- 
posed must  be  the  Pacific  ocean,  but  which  was 
really  the  Mississippi  river.  In  the  following  years 
Jesuit  missionaries  penetrated  as  far  as  Lake  Su- 
perior, and  settlements  were  made  at  Sault  Sainte 
Marie  and  Michillimackinac.  In  1669  La  Salle 
made  his  first  western  journey,  hoping  somewhere 
or  somehow  to  find  a  key  to  the  solution  of  the 
problem  of  a  northwest  passage.  In  the  course  of 
this  expedition  he  discovered  the  Ohio  river  and 
perhaps  also  the  Illinois.  La  Sailers  feudal  domain 
of  Saint  Sulpice,  near  Montreal,  bears  to  this  day 
the  name  of  La  Chine  (China),  which  is  said  to 
have  been  applied  to  it  in  derision  of  this  fruitless 
attempt  to  find  the  Pacific  and  the  way  to  Cathay.^ 
By  this  time  the  French  had  heard  much  about  the 
Mississippi,  but  so  far  from  recognizing  its  identity 
with  the  Rio  de  Espiritu  Santo  of  the  Spaniards, 
they  were  inclined  to  regard  it  as  flowing  into  the 
Pacific,  or  into  the  "  Vermilion  Sea,"  as  they  called 
the  narrow  gulf  between  Mexico  and  Old  Califo^ 

1  Parkman'a  La  SaUe,  p.  21. 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTUBIE3.        533 

nia.     In  1673  this  view  was  practically  refuted  by 
the  priest  Marquette  and  the  fur  trader  Marquette  mui 
Joliet,  who  reached  the  Mississippi  by  ^^^^^ 
WBj  of  the  Wisconsin,  and  sailed  down  the  great 
river  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas. 

La  Salle  now  undertook  to  explore  the  Missis- 
sippi to  its  mouth,  and  prepare  for  the  establish- 
ment of  such  military  posts  as  would  effectually 
confirm  the  authority  of  Louis  XIV.  throughout 
the  heart  of  the  continent,  and  permanently  check 
the  northward  advance  of  New  Spain  and  the  west, 
ward  progress  of  the  English  colonies.  La  Salle 
was  a  man  of  cold  and  haughty  demeanour,  and  had 
made  many  enemies  by  the  uncompromising  way 
in  which  he  pushed  his  schemes.  There  was  a 
widespread  fear  that  their  success  might  residt  in 
a  gigantic  commercial  monopoly.  For  these  and 
other  reasons  he  drew  upon  himself  the  enmity  of 
both  fur  traders  and  Jesuits ;  and,  as  so  often  hap- 
pens with  men  of  vast  projects,  he  had  but  little 
ready  money.  But  he  found  a  powerful  friend  in 
the  viceroy  Count  Frontenac,  and  like  that  pictur- 
esque and  masterful  personage  he  had  rare  skill  in 
managing  Indians.  At  length,  in  1679,  after  count- 
less vexations,  a  vessel  was  built  and  launched  on 
the  Niagara  river,  a  small  party  of  thirty  or  forty 
men  were  gathered  together,  and  La  Salle,  having 
just  recovered  from  a  treacherous  dose  of  poison, 
embarked  on  his  great  enterprise.  His  departure 
was  clouded  by  the  news  that  his  impatient  cred- 
itors had  laid  hands  upon  his  Canadian  estates,  but, 
nothing  daimted,  he  pushed  on  through  the  lakes 
Erie  and  Huron,  and  after  many  disasters  reached 


534  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

the  southern  extremity  of  Lake  Michigan.  The 
vessel  was  now  sent  back  with  half  the  party  to  Ni- 
agara, carrying  furs  to  appease  the  creditors  and 
purchase  additional  supplies  for  the  remainder  of 
the  journey,  while  La'  Salle  with  his  diminished 
company  pushed  on  to  the  Illinois,  where  a  fort 
Fort  crAve-  was  built  and  appi-opriately  named  Fort 
^^'  CrevecoBur.     It  was  indeed  at  a  heart- 

breaking moment  that  it  was  finished,  for  so  much 
time  had  elapsed  since  the  departure  of  their  little 
ship  that  all  had  come  to  despair  of  her  return. 
No  word  ever  came  from  her.  Either  she  found- 
ered on  the  way,  or  perhaps  her  crew  may  have 
deserted  and  scuttled  her,  carrying  off  her  goods  to 
trade  with  on  their  own  accoimt. 

After  a  winter  of  misery,  in  March,  1680,  La 
Salle  started  to  walk  to  MontreaL  Leaving  Fort 
Crevecceur  and  its  little  garrison  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  brave  Henri  de  Tonty,  a 
miles  In  the  Ueutcnant  who  could  always  be  trusted, 
he  set  out,  with  four  Frenchmen  and  one 
Mohegan  guide ;  and  these  six  men  fought  their 
way  eastward  through  the  wilderness,  now  flounder- 
ing through  melting  snow,  now  bivouacking  in 
clothes  stiff  with  frost,  now  stopping  to  make  a 
bark  canoe,  now  leaping  across  streams  on  floating 
ice-cakes,  like  the  runaway  slave-girl  in  ''Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin ; "  in  such  plight  did  they  make  their 
way  across  Michigan  and  Ontario  to  the  little  log- 
fortress  at  Niagara  Falls.  All  but  La  Salle  had 
given  out  on  reaching  Lake  Erie,  and  the  five  sick 
men  were  ferried  across  by  him  in  a  canoe.  Thus 
because  of  the  sustaining  power  of  wide-ranging 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.         535 

thoughts  and  a  lofty  purpose,  the  gentleman  reared 
in  luxury  and  trained  at  college  surpassed  in  en- 
durance the  Indian  and  the  hunters  inured  to  the 
forest.  He  had  need  of  all  this  sustaining  power, 
for  at  Niagara  he  learned  that  a  ship  from  France, 
freighted  for  him  with  a  cargo  worth  20,000  livres, 
had  been  wrecked  and  totally  lost  in  the  St.  Law- 
rence. Nothing  daunted  by  this  blow  he  took 
three  fresh  men,  and  completed  his  march  of  a 
thousand  miles  to  Montreal. 

There  he  collected  supplies  and  reinforcements 
and  had  returned  as  far  as  Fort  Frontenac,  at  the 
lower  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  when  further  wofid 
tidings  greeted  him.  A  message  from  the  fort  so 
well  named  "  Heartbreak  "  arrived  in  July.  The 
garrison  had  mutinied  and  pulled  that  blockhouse 
to  pieces,  and  made  their  way  back  through  Michi- 
gan. Recruiting  their  ranks  with  other  worthless 
freebooters,  they  had  plundered  the  station  at  Niag- 
ara, and  their  canoes  were  now  cruising  d^^^^  ^^  ^j^^ 
on  Lake  Ontario  in  the  hope  of  crown-  "»«"»««"• 
ing  their  work  with  the  murder  of  La  Salle.  These 
wretches,  however,  fell  into  their  own  pit.  The 
indomitable  commander's  canoes  were  soon  swarm- 
ing on  the  lake,  and  he  was  not  long  in  overtaking 
and  capturing  the  mutineers,  whom  he  sent  in 
chains  to  the  viceroy.  La  Salle  now  kept  on  his 
way  to  the  Illinois  river,  intending  to  rebuild  his 
fort  and  hoping  to  rescue  Tonty  with  the  few 
faithful  followers  who  had  survived  the  mutiny. 
That  little  party  had  found  shelter  among  the 
Illinois  Indians ;  but  during  the  summer  of  1680 
the  great  village  of  the  Illinois  was  sacked  by  the 


686  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Iroquois,  and  the  hard-pressed  Frenchmen  retreated 
Back  of  the  ^P  ^^  wostom  shore  of  Lake  Michigan 
niinoi.  town,  as  far  as  Green  Bay.  When  La  SaUe 
reached  the  Illinois  he  found  nothing  but  the  hor- 
rible vestiges  of  fiery  torments  and  cannibal  feasts. 
Without  delay  he  set  to  work  to  secure  the  friend- 
ship and  alliance  of  the  western  tribes,  on  the 
basis  of  their  common  enmity  to  the  Iroquois. 
After  thus  spending  the  winter  to  good  purpose, 
he  set  out  again  for  Canada,  in  May,  1681,  to 
arrange  his  affairs  and  obtain  fresh  resources.  At 
the  outlet  of  Lake  Michigan  he  fell  in  with  his 
friend  Tonty,  and  together  they  paddled  their  ca^ 
noes  a  thousand  miles,  and  so  came  to  Fort  Fron- 
tenac. 

The  enemies  of  the  great  explorer  had  grown 
merry  over  his  apparent  discomfiture,  but  his  stub- 
bom  courage  at  length  vanquished  the  adverse 
fates,  and  on  the  next  venture  things  went 
smoothly.  In  the  autumn  he  started  with  a  fleet 
of  canoes,  })assed  up  the  lakes  from  Ontario  to 
the  head  of  Michigan,  crossed  the  narrow  portage 
from  the  Chicasfo  river  to  the  Illinois, 

DMcentofthe  °  i        •»». 

Jg^ppi.  and  thence  commg  out  upon  the  Mis- 
sissippi glided  down  to  its  mouth.  On 
the  9th  of  April,  1682,  the  fleurs-de-lis  were  duly 
planted,  and  all  the  country  drained  by  the  great 
river  and  its  tributaries,  a  country  vaster  than  La 
Salle  imagined,  was  declared  to  be  the  property  of 
the  king  of  France,  and  named  for  him  Louisiana. 
Returning  up  the  Mississippi  after  this  triumph, 
La  Salle  established  a  small  fortified  post  on  the 
Illinois  river,  which  he  called  St.  Louis.     Leaving 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        587 

Tonty  in  command  there,  he  lost  no  time  in  re- 
turning to  France  for  means  to  complete  his  far- 
reaching  scheme.  A  colony  was  to  be  founded  at 
or  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  a  line 
of  military  posts  was  to  connect  it  with  Canada. 
La  Salle  was  well  received  by  the  king,  and  a  fine 
expedition  was  fitted  out,  but  everything  was 
ruined  by  the  incompetence  or  ill  fortune  of  the 
naval  commander,  Beaujeu.  The  intention  was  to 
sail  directly  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  but 
the  pilots  missed  it  and  passed  beyond  5  y.  g-u  ,  ,-.* 
some  of  the  ships  were  wrecked  on  the  •xF«<iition, 
coast  of  Texas ;  the  captain,  beset  by 
foul  weather  and  pirates,  disappeared  with  the  rest, 
and  was  seen  no  more ;  and  two  years  of  misery 
followed.  At  last,  in  March,  1687,  La  Salle 
started  on  foot  in  search  of  the  Mississippi,  hop- 
ing to  ascend  it  and  find  succour  at  Tonty's  fort ; 
but  he  had  scarcely  set  out  with  this  forlorn  hope 
when  two  or  three  mutinous  wretches  skulked  in 
ambush  and  shot  him  dead. 

These  explorations  of  Joliet,  Marquette,  and 
La  Salle  opened  up  the  centre  of  the  continent, 
and  in  the  map  dedicated  by  Joliet  to  Count 
Frontenac,  in  1673,^  we  see  a  marked  advance  be- 

^  The  sketch  here  given  is  reduced  from  the  sketch  in  Winsor, 
iy.  208,  after  the  coloured  facsimile  accompanying  Gravier^s  ^tude 
9ur  une  carte  inconiwe,  Paris,  1879.  There  is  another  coloured 
facsimile  in  the  Magazine  of  American  Ilistory,  vol.  ix.  p.  27t3,  in 
connection  with  the  excellent  bibliographical  articles  by  Mr. 
Appleton  Griffin,  of  the  Boston  Public  Library,  on  the  discovery 
of  the  Mississippi,  pp.  100-199,  273-280.  This  is  the  earliest 
map  of  the  Mississippi  valley  that  is  based  upon  real  kaowlecigtb 
The  legends  are  as  follows :  — 


588 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 


yond  Dr.  Dee's  map  of  1580.  The  known  part 
of  the  continent  of  North  America  represented 
has  come  to  be  veiy  large,  but  Joliet  has  no  sus- 
picion of  the  huge  dimensions  of  the  portion  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  his  style  of  theorizing  is 
oceanic  in  so  far  as  he  fills  up  the  unknown  spaces 
with  water  rather  than  land.  A  freezing  ocean 
usurps  the  place  of  northwestern  British  America, 
and  Hudson  Bay  appears  as  an  open  gulf  in  this 
ocean.  .  From  this  great  inland  sea,  forever  mem- 
orable for  Henry  Hudson's  wild  and  tragic  fate, 
and  from  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  rival  lines 
of  fur  trade  were  presently  to  carry  the  knowledge 
and  influence  of  the  white  men  still  farther  into 
the   unknown   West.     About  the   time   that   La 

SaUe  was  starting  from  Fort  Crevecoeur 
the  HinneMta  for  Montreal,  the  RecoUet  friar,  Louis 

de  Hennepin,  with  two  companions,  set 
out  from  the  same  point  with  La  Salle's  directions 


1.  MerGladale. 

2.  Lea  sauvmgies  habitont  oette  isle. 

3.  Baye  d'Hudaon. 

4.  Labrador. 

6.  Le  fleuve  de  St.  Laurent. 

6.  Tadotuaao. 

7.  Le  Saguenay. 

8.  Quebec 

9.  MontroyaL 

10.  Acadie. 

11.  Baston  [i.  e.  Bottoo]. 

12.  Noavelle  SoMe. 

13.  LaVirglnle. 

14.  LaFloride. 

15.  Cap  de  la  Florida. 

16.  Fort  de  Frontenao. 

17.  Lao  Frontenao  on  Oatario. 

18.  Lac  Brie. 

19.  Lac  Httroo. 

20.  Le  Bault  Ste  ICarie. 

21.  Lao  BupMeur. 


22.  Lac  des  Illinoia  on  ViiurfhigM>t«- 

23.  Ririere  Miakooalng. 

24.  Ririere  de  Buade. 

26.  Paoutet,  Malia,  Atontanka,  Dli- 
nola,  Peouaria,  300  cabanea.  180 
canota  de  boia  de  60  pieds  de 
long. 

26.  Minongio,  Bani,  Oochaf^,  Kanaa, 

MlaaoorL 

27.  BlTiere  de  la  Divine  oorOotro^ 


28.  Riv.  Onabooakigon  [L  e.  Ohio]. 

29.  Akanaea  aauTagea. 
90.  lUTiere  Baaire. 

81.  Tapenaa  aauTagea. 

82.  Le  Sein  de  Mezique. 
S3.  Le  Mexiqne. 

34.  La  NouTelle  Graoade. 

35.  Mer  Yermeille,  oa  ea*  la  CaX> 

f  oumie,  par  on  on  pent  aller  ao 
Faroiu,  an  Japoo,  et  4  U  OOm. 


THE  WOBK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        589 

to  explore  the  Illinois  river  to  its  mouth.  Tha 
little  party  were  captured  by  Sioux  Indians  and 
carried  o£E  into  the  Minnesota  country  as  far  as 


the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  and  beyond.  Hennepin's 
pocket  compass  was  regarded  by  these  redskins  as 
potent  medicine,  so  that  he  was  adopted  by  an 
old  chief  and  held  in  high  esteem.  After  many 
romantic  adventures  he  found  his  way  back  to 


540  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

Montreal,  and  indeed  to  Paris,  where  in  1688  he 
published  a  narrative  of  his  experiences.^  What 
he  had  done  and  snfFered  entitled  him  to  a  fair 
meed  of  fame,  but  in  1697,  after  La  SaUe  had 
been  ten  years  dead,  and  after  the  silly  friar  had 
passed  into  the  service  of  England,  he  published 
another  account  in  which  he  declared  that  before 
his  capture  by  the  Sioux  he  had  descended  the 
Mississippi  river  to  its  mouth  and  returned  to  the 
spot  where  he  was  captured.^  The  impudent  lie 
was  veiy  easily  exposed,  and  Father  Hennepin's 
good  fame  was  ruined.  His  genuine  adventures, 
however,  in  which  the  descriptions  can  be  verified, 
are  none  the  less  interesting  to  the  historian ;  and 
from  that  time  forth  the  French  began  to  become 
familiar  with  the  Lake  Superior  country,  and  to 
extend  their  alliances  among  the  northwestern  In- 
dians. 

About  the  same  time  a  rival  claim  to  the  prof- 
its of  the  fur  trade  was  set  up  by  the  English. 
It  was  the  time  when  Charles  II.  was  so  lavish 
with  his  grants  of  American  territories  and  their 
produce,  without  much  heeding  what  or  where 
they  were,  or  to  whom  they  belonged.  In  1670 
The  Hudson  ^®  granted  to  his  cousin  Prince  Rupert 
Bay  Company,  ^n^  scvcral  Other  noblcmeu  "the  sole 
trade  and  commerce  of  all  those  seas,  straits,  bays, 

^  Hennepin,  Description  de  la  Louisiane,  nouvellement  diamveriej 
PiiTi8,1683. 

^  Hennepin,  NouveUe  d4couverte  d'un  trhs  grand  pays  situ^  dans 
VAnUrique^  entre  U  Nouveau  Mexique  et  la  Mar  Glaciale^  Utrecbt, 
1097  [dedicated  to  King  William  III.|.  It  has  the  earliest  known 
engraved  plate  showing  Niagara  Falls,  and  a  fine  map  oontatning 
iMiilts  of  exploratiou  north  of  Lake  Superior. 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        641 

rivers,  lakes,  creeks,  and  sounds  lying  within  the 
entrance  of  Hudson's  Sti*aits,  with  all  the  lands, 
countries,  and  territories  upon  the  coasts  and  con- 
fines" of  the  same.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  from  that  day  until 
lately  the  vast  and  vaguely  defined  country  which 
has  been  the  scene  of  its  operations  has  been 
known  as  "Rupert's  Land."  From  that  day  to 
this  it  has  been  a  huge  "  preserve  for  fur-bearing 
animals  and  for  Indians  who  might  hunt  and  trap 
them,"  a  natural  home  for  beavers,  "  otters,  mar- 
tens, musk-rats,  and  all  the  other  species  of  am- 
phibious creatures,  with  countless  herds  of  buffa- 
loes, moose,  bears,  deer,  foxes,  and  wolves."  In 
the  time  of  which  we  are  treating,  these  beasts  had 
freely  multiplied,  "  the  aborigines  killing  only 
enough  of  them  for  their  clothing  and  subsistence 
till  the  greed  of  traffic  threatened  their  complete 
extirpation."  ^  Upon  the  shores  of  Hudson  Bay 
the  agents  of  the  company  set  up  fortified  trading 
stations  and  dealt  with  the  tribes  in  the  interior. 
These  proceedings  aroused  the  jealous  wrath  of 
the  French,  and  furnished  occasions  for  scrim- 
mages in  the  wilderness  and  diplomatic  wrangling 
at  Westminster  and  Versailles.  More  than  once 
in  those  overbearing  days  of  Louis  XIV.  the  Eng- 
lish forts  were  knocked  to  pieces  by  war  parties 
from  Canada  ;  but  after  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  this 
sort  of  thing  became  less  common. 

In  the  great  war  which  that  treaty  of  Utrecht 
ended,  a  brave  young  lieutenant,  named   Pierre 

^  See  the  admirable  description  of  Rnpert^s  Land   bj   Dr. 
CkfOTge  Ellia,  in  Winsor,  Narr.  and  Crit,  Hist.,  viiL  12. 


642  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Graultier  de  Yarennes,  was  wounded  and  left  for 
dead  on  the  field  of  Malplaquet,  but  recovered  and 
lived  to  play  a  part  in  American  his- 
tory.    He  was  a  native  of  Three  Rivers 
in  Canada,  and  returned  thither  after  the  war, 
assuming  for  some  reason  the  name  of  La  Veren- 
drye,  by  which  he  has  since  been  known.     About 
1728  La  y^rendrye,  being  in  command  of  a  fort 
to  the  north  of  Lake  Superior,  was  led  by  Indian 
reports  to  believe  that  the  western  ocean  could  be 
reached  by  journeys  in  canoes  and  on  foot  from 
that  point.     He  was  empowered  to  make  the  ex- 
periment at  his  own  expense  and  risk,  and  was 
promised  a  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade  in  the  coun- 
tries he  should  discover.     This  arrangement  set 
all  the  traders  against  him,  and  the  problem  as- 
sumed  very  much  the   same  form  as   that  with 
which  La  Salle  had  struggled.     Nine  years  were 
consumed  in  preliminary  work,  in  the  course  of 
which  a  wide  territory  was  explored  and  a  chain 
of  forts  erected  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Saskatchewan.     From  this 
region  La  Y^rendrye  made  his  way  to  the  Mandan 
French  di»-      viUagcs  ou  the  Missouii ;  and  thence 
SStJmotm*    ^  *^^  sons,  taking  up  the  work  while 
tains,  1743.      ]j^  ^^  temporarily  disabled,  succeeded 

in  reaching  the  Bighorn  range  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains on  New  Year's  day,  1743.  At  this  })oint, 
marvelling  at  the  interminable  extent  of  the  con- 
tinent and  believing  that  they  must  at  last  be 
near  the  Pacific,  though  they  were  scarcely  within 
a  thousand  miles  of  it,  they  felt  obliged  to  turn 
back.     Another  expedition  was  contemplated,  but 


ruvA.^ 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        648 

by  this  time  so  many  jealousies  had  been  aroused 
that  the  remaining  energies  of  the  family  La 
V^rendrye  were  frittered  away.  The  Hudson  Bay 
Company  incited  the  Indians  of  the  Saskatchewaa 
region  to  hostilities  against  the  French ;  and  it  was 
not  long  before  all  their  romantic  schemes  were 
swallowed  up  in  the  English  conquest  of  Canada.^ 
The  crossing  of  the  continent  was  not  completed 
until  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Af- 
ter President  Jefferson's  purchase  of  the  Louisiana 
territory  from  France  had  carried  the  western 
frontier  of  the  United  States  up  to  the  crests  of 
the  Kocky  moimtains,  the  question  as  to  what 
power  belonged  the  Oregon  territory  beyond  re- 
mained  undecided.      It    is   not  neces-  ^. 

,  Diacoretyof 

sary  to  encumber  our  narrative  with  a  y*®  ^iiiS^ 
statement  of  this  complicated  question.^ 
It  is  enough  to  observe  that  in  1792  Captain 
Robert  Gray,  in  the  ship  Columbia,  of  Boston,  in 
the  course  of  a  voyage  around  the  world,  ascended 
for  some  distance  the  magnificent  river  to  which 
he  gave  the  name  of  his  vessel.  It  was  only  four- 
teen years  since  that  part  of  the  North  American 
coast  had  been  mapped  out  by  the  famous  Captain 
Cook,  but  neither  he  nor  Vancouver,  who  was  on 
that  coast  in  the  same  year  with  Grray,  discovered 
the  Columbia  river.  Gray  was  unquestionably  the 
first  white  man  to  enter  it  and  to  recognize  it  as 

^  In  writing  tills  panigrapli  I  am  under  obligations  to  Mr.  Park- 
man's  paper  on  ''  The  Discovery  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,"  At- 
hntic  Monthly,  June,  1888. 

^  For  a  statement  of  it,  see  Hubert  Bancroft's  Northwest  Coast, 
vol.  L ;  Barrows's  Oregon ;  Vancouver's  Voyage  of  Discovery,  Lon- 
don, 1798 ;  Winsor,  Narr,  and  Crit.  Hist.,  vii  555-562. 


644  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

an  immense  river  and  not  a  mere  arm  of  the  sea ; 
and  upon  the  strength  of  this  discovery  the  United 
States  laid  claim  to  the  area  drained  by  the  Colnm- 
bia.     To  support  this  claim  by  the  farther  explo- 
ration of  the  valley,  and  possibly  also  to  determine 
by  inspection  of  the  country  what  bearings,  if  any, 
the  purchase  of  Louisiana  might  have  upon  the 
question,  Captains   Meriwether  Lewis   and  Wil- 
liam Clark  ^  were  sent  out,  with  thirty-two  men, 
upon  the  same  enterprise  that  had  been  attempted 
by  La  Yerendrye  and  his  sons.     Lewis  and  Clark, 
like  the  Frenchmen,  took  their  Snal  start  from  one 
KrrtcroMhig    ^^  *^^  Maudau  viUages.     From  April 
SUtVawf*"     '^  *^^  August  11,  1806,  they  worked  up 
the   Missouri    river   and    its  Jefferson 
fork  in  boats  and   canoes,  and  then  made  their 
way  through  the  mountains  to  the  headwaters  of 
the  Columbia,  down  which  they  sailed  to  its  mouth, 
and  came  out  upon  the  Pacific  on  the  7th  of  No- 
vember, after  a  journey  of  nearly  4,000  miles  from 
the  confluence  of   the  Mississippi  with   the  Mis- 
souri.   The  progress  across  the  continent,  b^;nn  by 
Champlain,  was  thus  completed,  two  hundred  years 
later,  by  Lewis  and  Clark. 

The  final  proof  of  the  separation  of  North  Amer- 
ica f  i*om  Asia  by  Vitus  Bering  was  an  incident  in 
the  general  history  of  arctic  exploration.  When 
the  new  continent  from  Patagonia  to  Labrador 
came  to  be  recognized  as  a  barrier  in  the  way  to 
the  Indies,  the   search  for  a   northwest  passage 

^  He  was  brother  to  Gkorge  Rogers  Clark,  oonquexor  o£  tbt 
Northwest  Territory. 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.         646 

necessarily  became  restricted  to  the  arctic  regions, 
and  attempts  were  also  made  to  find  a 

,  J    o.i       .       .    ,       Search  for* 

northeast  passa&fe   aroimd  oibena  into  Nortbv7e«t 

.  Paaaage. 

the  Pacific.  This  work  was  begun  by 
the  English  and  Dutch,  at  about  the  time  when 
Spanish  activity  in  discovery  and  colonization  was 
coming  to  a  standstill.  There  is  much  meaning  in 
the  simultaneous  expeditions  of  Drake  and  Fro- 
bisher,  just  at  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  alli- 
ance with  the  revolted  Netherlands.  In  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth's  grandfather  England  had  for  a  mo- 
ment laid  a  hand  upon  North  America ;  she  now 
went  far  toward  encompasBing  it,  and  in  the  voy- 
age  of  Drake,  as  in  that  of  Cabot,  a  note  of  pro- 
phecy was  sounded.  In  the  years  1577-80  Drake 
passed  the  strait  of  Magellan,  followed  the  coast 
northward  as  far  as  some  point  in  northern  Cali- 
fornia or  southern  Oregon,  and  took  formal  posses- 
sion of  that  region,  caUing  it  New  Al-  Brake  and 
bion.  Thence  he  crossed  the  Pacific  ^'^**'****'- 
directly  to  the  Moluccas,  a  much  shorter  transit  than 
that  of  Magellan,  and  thence  returned  to  England 
by  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  This  was  the 
second  circumnavigation  of  the  earth.  Its  effect 
upon  the  geographical  knowledge  of  North  Amer- 
ica was  to  gustain  the  continental  theory  indicated 
upon  Dr»  Dee's  map  of  1580.^  About  the  same 
time,  in  1576-78,  Sir  Martin  Frobisher  in  three 

^  See  Drake^s  World  Encompassed^  ed.  Vaux,  Loudon,  1854 
(Hakluyt  Soc.).  There  is  a  story  that  a  Greek  sailor,  Apostolos 
Valerianos,  who  had  served  in  the  Spanish  marine  under  the  name 
of  Juan  de  la  Faca,  came  after  Drake  in  1592,  and  discovered  the 
strait  which  bears  that  name.  See  Peschel,  Geschichte  der  Erd- 
kunde,  bd.  i.  p.  273. 


546  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

voyages  entered  the  strait  which  bears  his  name 
and  that  which  is  called  after  Hudson,  in  search 
of  a  passage  to  Cathay.^ 

The  second  attempt  in  these  arctic  waters  was 
made  by  that  scientific  sailor,  John  Davis,  who  in 
DarUand  158&--87  penetrated  as  far  as  latitude 
B^rentx.         rj^o  ^2'  and  discovcrcd  the  Cumberland 

islands.^  Attention  was  at  the  same  time  paid  to 
the  ocean  between  Greenland  and  Norway,  both 
by  the  Muscovy  Company  in  London,  of  which 
Dr.  Dee  was  now  one  of  the  official  advisers,  and 
by  Dutch  navigators,  imder  the  impulse  and  guid- 
ance of  the  eminent  Flemish  merchant,  Balthasar 
Moucheron.  In  1594-96  William  Barentz  discov- 
ered Spitzbergen  and  thoroughly  explored  Nova 
Zembla,  but  found  little  promise  of  a  route  to 
Cathay  in  that  direction.*  Then  came  Heniy 
Hudson,  grandson  of  one  of  the  founders  of  thb 
Muscovy  Company.  In  1607  and  1608  he  made 
two  voyages  in  the  service  of  that  company.  In 
the  first  he  tried  to  penetrate  between  Greenland 

Henry  ^^^  Spitzbergcu  and  strike  boldly  across 

Hu<i«)n.         ^jjg  jf Qj^jj  p^ig .  jj^  ^j^^  second  he  tried 

to  pass  between  Spitzbergen  and  Nova  Zembla. 
His  third  voyage  was  made  in  1609,  in  that  fa- 
mous little  eighty-ton  craft  the  Half-Moon,  and 
in  the  service  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company. 

^  See  Frobiaher's  Three  Voyages,  ed.  Ck>lliii8on,  London,  1807 
(Hakluyt  Soc.). 

'^  See  Davis^s  Voyages  and  Works  on  Navigation,  ed.  A.  H. 
Markham,  London,  1880  (Haklnyt  Soc.). 

^  See  Motley's  United  Netherlands,  vol.  iii.  pp.  652-576 ;  Geirit 
de  Veer,  Three  Voyages  to  the  Northeast,  ed.  Koolmniw 
London,  1876  (Haklnyt  Soo.). 


ait. 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.         647 

He  had  with  him  some  letters  which  his  friend 
Captain  John  Smith  had  sent  him  from  Virginia, 
in  which  allusion  was  made  to  the  great  river 
which,  as  we  now  know,  had  already  been  visited 
by  Verrazano  and  Gomez,  and  probably  also  by 
sporadic  French  traders,  who  may  have  ascended 
it  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk  in  quest  of 
peltries.1  It  seemed  to  Smith,  from  what  he  had 
heard,  that  this  water  might  be  a  strait  leading 
into  a  western  ocean.  When  Hudson  reached 
Nova  Zembla,  he  found  the  sea  as  full  of  ice  as  be- 
fore, and  thereupon,  in  excess  of  his  instructions, 
he  faced  about  and  stood  across  the  Atlantic,  in 
the  hope  of  finding  his  northwest  passage  at  about 
the  fortieth  parallel.  His  exploration  of  the  river 
which  has  since  borne  his  name  served  to  turn 
the  attention  of  Dutch  merchants  to  the  fur  trade, 
and  thus  led  to  the  settlement  of  New  Netherland, 
while  at  the  same  time  it  proved  that  no  passage 
to  Cathay  was  to  be  found  in  that  direction.  In 
tKe  following  year  Hudson  had  returned  to  the 
English  service,  and  in  a  further  search  for  the 

^  See  Weise's  Discoveries  of  America^  New  York,  1884,  chap, 
xi.  Mr.  Weise  suggests  that  the  name  Terre  de  Norumhega  may 
be  a  cormption  of  Terre  d^Anormie  Berge^  i.  e.  "  Land  of  the 
Grand  Scarp,*^  from  the  escarpment  of  palisaded  cliffs  which  is 
the  most  striking  feature  as  one  passes  by  the  upper  part  of  Man- 
hattan island.  See  the  name  Anorumbega  on  Mercator^s  map, 
1541,  above,  p.  153.  Thevet  (1556)  says  that  Norombegue  is  a 
name  given  to  the  Grand  River  by  the  French.  Laudonni^re 
(1564)  has  it  Ncrumberge.  The  more  common  opinion  is  that  the 
Nommbeg^  river  was  the  Penobscot,  and  that  the  name  is  a  pre- 
sumed Indian  word  Aranhega,  but  this  is  doubtfuL  In  the  loose 
nomenclature  of  the  time  the  name  Norurobega  may  have  been 
applied  now  to  the  Penobscot  and  now  to  the  Hudson,  as  it  was 
■ometimee  to  the  whole  country  between  them. 


548  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

passage  he  found  his  way  into  that  vast  inland  sea 
which  is  at  once  '^  his  tomb  and  his  monument.'* 
In  midsummer  of  1611  he  was  turned  adrift  in  an 
open  boat  by  his  mutinous  crew  and  abandoned 
on  that  gloomy  waste  of  waters.^ 

The  result  of  this  memorable  career,  embraced 
as  it  was  within  four  short  years,  was  to  dispe? 
illusory  hopes  in  many  directions,  and  limit  the 
search  to  the  only  really  available  route  —  the  one 
which  Hudson  would  probably  have  tried  next  — 

wniiam  ^y  ^*y  ^^  ^®  strait  discovered  by  Da- 

®*®°-  vis.     This  route  was  resumed  in  1615 

by  William  BafiBn,  who  left  his  name  upon  a  long 
stretch  of  sea  beyond  that  explored  by  Davis,  and 
reached  the  78th  parallel,  discovering  Jones  and 
Lancaster  sounds,  as  well  as  the  sound  which  com- 
memorates the  name  of  the  merchant  prince.  Sir 
Thomas  Smith,  first  governor  of  the  East  India 
Company .2  Nothing  more  was  accomplished  in 
this  direction  until  Sir  John  Ross,  in  1818,  opened 
the  modern  era  of  arctic  exploration.^ 

^  See  Asher*s  Henry  Hudson  the  Navigator^  London,  1800 
(Hakluyt  Soc.)  ;  Read's  Historical  Inquiry  concerning  Henry  Hud- 
§on,  Albany,  1866 ;  De  Costa,  Sailing  Directions  of  Henry  Hud' 
son,  Albany,  1869.  Portnguese  sailoxB  seem  to  have  entered  the 
bay  called  after  Hudson  as  early  as  1558-69 ;  see  Asher,  p.  cxlir. 

^  See  Markham's  Voyages  of  William  Baffin,  London,  1881 
(Hakluyt  Soc.).  For  a  brief  account  of  Sir  Thomas  Smith  (or 
Smythe)  see  Fox- Bourne,  English  Merchants^  toI.  i.  pp.  315-^17 ; 
there  is  a  portrait  of  him  in  Wiusor,  Narr,  and  Crit.  Hitt.,  toL  iiL 
p.  94. 

^  Just  as  this  final  chapter  goes  to  press  I  have  reoeired  the 
sheets  of  Winsor's  Christopher  Columbus^  a  few  days  in  advance 
of  publication.  On  pag^  651  he  cites  the  unsuccessful  Toyages  ci 
Luke  Fox  and  Thomas  James  in  Hudson's  Bay  in  1631  as  check- 
ing  further  efforts  in  this  direction. 


THE  WOBK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        649 

One  consequence  of  these  voyages  was  to  abol- 
ish the  notion  of  a  connection  between  Greenland 
and  Europe,  and  to  establish  the  outlines  of  the 
northeastern  coast  of  North  America,  in  such  wise 
as  to  suggest,  in  the  minds  of  the  few  northern 
scholars  who  knew  anything  about  the 
y inland  traditions,  the  correct  associa-  theconoepuon 
tion  of  the  idea  of  Vinland  with  the 
idea  of  America.  As  I  have  already  observed, 
there  was  nothing  to  suggest  any  such  association 
of  ideas  until  the  period  of  the  four  great  navi- 
gators, Frobisher,  Davis,  Hudson,  and  Baffin ;  at 
that  period  we  begin  to  catch  glimpses  of  it,  dimly 
and  dubiously  in  1570  with  Stephanius,  briefly  but 
distinctly  in  1610  with  Amgrim  Jonsson ;  i  and 
at  last  in  1705  a  general  interest  in  the  subject 
was  awakened  by  Torf  aeus. 

While  Frobisher  and  his  successors  were  grop- 
ing for  a  northwest  passage  to  Cathay,  the  Rus- 
8iai«  were  steadily  advancing  by  overland  con- 
quests  toward  that  land  of  promise.    Between  1560 
and  1580  the  Cossack  Irmak  crossed  the  Ural 
mountains  and  conquered  Siberia  as  far  as  the  Obi 
river.     Thence,  urged  on  by  the  quest  for  gold  and 
peltries,  and  the  need  for  subduing  unruly  neigh- 
bours, the  Eussian  arms  pressed  east-  _    . 
¥rard,  until   in   1706   the  peninsula  of  |"^*f' 
Elamtchatka  was  added  to  their  domains. 
At  that  period  the  northern  Pacific  and  the  wild 
coasts  on  either  side  of  it  were  still  a  region  of 
mystery.      On   the   American    side   nothing  was 
known  north  of  Drake's  "  New  Albion,"  on  the 

^  See  above,  vol.  i.  p.  394. 


^^ 


650  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

Asiatic  side  nothing  north  of  Japan.  Some  still 
believed  that  the  two  continents  were  joined  to- 
gether ;  others  held  that  they  were  separated  by  a 
strait,  for  how  else  could  there  be  a  Northwest 
Passage  ?  ^  Peter  the  Great  wished  to  settle  such 
questions  and  ascertain  the  metes  and  bounds  of 
his  empire,  and  in  1724,  shortly  before  his  death, 
he  appointed  the  Danish  captain  Vitus  Bering  ^  to 
the  command  of  an  expedition  for  ex- 
°^'  ploring  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Kam- 
tchatka  and  Chukchi  peninsulas,  to  see  if  any  strait 
could  be  found  there.  In  one  respect  this  was  an 
enterprise  of  imparalleled  difficulty,  for  the  start- 
ing point  of  the  navigation  was  some  5,000  miles 
distant  from  St.  Petersburg,  and  more  than  half 
this  distance  was  through  a  howling  wilderness. 
Many  were  the  obstacles  that  had  to  be  surmounted 
before  Bering  could  build  and  laimch  his  stout 
little  ship,  the  Gabriel,  in  the  early  summer  of 
1728.  The  point  from  which  he  started  was  not 
far  from  Cape  Kamtchatka.  He  bore  to  the  north- 
ward, keeping  in  sight  of  the  coast,  and  on  the 
11th  of  August  sighted  on  the  starboard  the  island 
which  he  named  St.  Lawrence.     On  the  14th  he 

^  The  wish  was  father  to  the  thong^ht,  and  the  so-called  stnit 
of  Anian  appears  on  many  old  inapSf  beginning'  with  Mercator*s 
chart  of  1569.  Some  maps  have  also  a  gnlf  of  Anian ;  possibly 
from  a  misunderstanding  of  the  gnlf  of  An-nan  (i.  e.  Tongkbg) 
mentioned  in  a  passage  interpolated  into  Marco  Polo,  bk.  iil 
chap.  iy.  See  Lanridsen^s  Vitus  Bering^  p.  202.  But  this  ex- 
planation is  doubtful. 

^  Until  lately  the  Danish  name  has  appeared  in  English  with  a 
German  and  incorrect  spelling,  as  Behring,  The  best  book  <m 
Shis  navigator  is  Lauridsen^s  Vitus  Bering^  Chicago,  1889,  tram- 
lated  by  Professor  Julius  Olson,  of  the  University  of  WisoooBiw 


THE  WOBK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        661 

East  Cape  receding  astern,   and  seemed  to 
>  open  sea  on  both  sides  of  him,  for 
lid  not  descry  the  American  coast  Berin^^iSlidt, 
.t  forty  miles  distant.   After  a  day's 
into  the  Arctic  ocean,  he  turned  and  passed 
:  through  the  strait  without  seeing  the  oppo- 
coast.     He  believed,  and  rightly  as  it  hap- 
d,  that  he  had  found  an  end  to  Asia,  and 
)leted  the  proof  of  the  existence  of  a  contin- 

searcoast  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  river 
amtchatka.  A  gigantic  enterprise  was  now 
n  foot.  The  Siberian  coast  was  to  be  charted 
.  Nova  Zembla  to  the  Lena ;  Japan  was  to  be 
led  from  the  north ;  and  the  western  shore  of 
rica  was  to  be  discovered  and  explored.  As 
le  latter  part,  with  which  we  are  here  con- 
3d,  a  Russian  officer,  Gvosdjeff,  sailed  into  Ber- 

strait  in  1732  and  saw  the  American  coast.^ 
re  more  extensive  work  could  be  done  it  was 
uMuy  to  build  the  town  of  Petropavlovsk,  in 
tohatka,  as  a  base  of  operations.  From  that 
;  the  two  ships  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  under 
iir's  command,  set  sail  in  the  sum- 

0  HPTAH         Art  -I  1  1       Bering's dU- 
M  1741.     At  first  they  tOOK  a  south-    corery  of 

1  •  1        X      /»     J  •  AlMk»,  1741. 

rly  course  m  order  to  find  an  imag- 
'  **  Gramaland,"  which  was  by  a  few  theorizers 
osed  to  lie  in  mid-Pacific,  east  of  Japan.    Thus 
missed  the  Aleutian  islands.     After  reaching 
ide  46°,  not  far  from  the  180th  meridian,  they 

up  the  search  for  this  figment  of  fancy,  and 
ing  northeasterly  at  length  reached  the  Alaska 

tmder  the  volcano  St.  Elias.    On  the  more 

^  Lauridsen,  op.  cU*  p.  130. 


662  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

direct  return  voyage,  which  took  them  through  the 
Aleutian  archipelago,  they  encountered  fierce 
storms,  with  the  added  horrors  of  famine  and 
scurvy.  When  they  came  to  the  island  known  as 
Bering's,  not  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from  the 
Kamtchatka  coast,  they  were  cast  ashore,  and  there 
the  gallant  Bering  succumbed  to  scurvy  and  ague, 
and  died  in  his  sixtieth  year.  Such  were  the  ex- 
peditions that  completed  the  discovery  of  North 
America  as  a  distinct  and  separate  continent,  and 
gave  to  Russia  for  a  time  an  American  territoiy  as 
spacious  as  France  and  Germany  together. 

The  work  of  Vitus  Bering  may  be  regarded  as 
the  natural  conclusion  of  that  long  chapter  in  the 
history  of  discovery  which  began  with  Ponce  de 
Leon's  first  visit  to  the  Land  of  Easter.  When 
Bering  and  Gvosdjeff  saw  the  two  sides  of  the 
strait  that  separates  America  from  Asia,  quite 
enough  had  been  done  to  reveal  the  general  out- 
lines and  to  suggest  the  broadness  of  the  former 
continent,  although  many  years  were  still  to  elapse 
The  discovery  bcforc  anybody  crossed  it  from  ocean 
wa^i^pnlSuai   to  occau.     The  discovcry  of  the  whole 

development.      ^^^^^  ^j    ^j^^  Mississippi,  with    itS  Volu- 

minous  tributaries,  indicating  an  extensive  drain- 
age area  to  the  west  of  that  river,  the  informa- 
tion gained  in  the  course  of  trade  by  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company,  the  stretch  of  arctic  coast  explored 
by  Baffin,  and  finally  the  discovery  of  Bering 
strait,  furnished  points  enough  to  give  one  a  fairly 
correct  idea  of  North  America  as  a  distinct  and 
integral  mass  of  land,  even  though  there  was  stiil 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        653 

room  for  error,  here  and  there,  with  regard  to  its 
dimensions.  Our  story  impresses  upon  us  quite 
forcibly  the  fact  that  the  work  of  discovery  has 
been  a  gradual  and  orderly  development.  Such 
must  necessarily  be  the  case.  Facts  newly  pre- 
sented to  the  mind  must  be  assimilated  to  the  pre- 
existing stock  of  knowledge,  and  in  the  process  an 
extensive  destruction  of  wrong  or  inadequate  con- 
ceptions takes  place ;  and  this  sort  of  thing  takes 
a  great  deal  of  time,  especially  since  the  new  facts 
can  be  obtained  only  by  long  voyages  in  unknown 
seas,  or  tramps  through  the  trackless  wilderness,  at 
great  cost  of  life  and  treasure.  The  Discovery  of 
America  may  be  regarded  in  one  sense  as  a  unique 
event,  but  it  must  likewise  be  regarded  as  a  long 
and  multifarious  process.  The  unique  event  was  the 
crossing  of  the  Sea  of  Darkness  in  1492.  It  es- 
tablished a  true  and  permanent  contact  between 
the  eastern  and  western  halves  of  our  planet,  and 
brought  together  the  two  streams  of  human  life 
that  had  flowed  in  separate  channels  ever  since  the 
Glacial  period.  No  ingenuity  of  argument  can 
take  from  Columbus  the  glory  of  an  achievement 
which  has,  and  can  have,  no  parallel  in  the  whole 
career  of  mankind.  It  was  a  thing  that  could  be 
done  but  once.  On  the  other  hand,  when  we  re- 
gard the  Discovery  as  a  long  and  multifarious  pro- 
cess, it  is  only  by  a  decision  more  or  less  arbitrary 
that  we  can  say  when  it  began  or  when  it  ended. 
It  emerged  from  a  complex  group  of  facts  and 
theories,  and  was  accomplished  through  a  multi- 
tude of  enterprises  in  all  quarters  of  the  globe. 
We  cannot  understand  its  beginnings  without  pay- 


654  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

ing  due  heed  to  the  speculations  of  Claudius  Ptol- 
emy at  Alexandria  in  the  second  centuiy  of  our 
era,  and  to  the  wanderings  of  Rubruquis  in  Tar- 
tary  in  the  thirteenth ;  nor  can  we  describe  ite 
consummation  without  recalling  to  memory  the 
motives  and  results  of  cruises  in  the  Malay  ar- 
chipelago and  journeys  through  the  snows  of 
Siberia.  For  our  general  purpose,  however,  it  is 
enough  to  observe  that  a  period  oi  two  hundred 
years  just  about  carries  us  from  Dias  and  Coliun- 
bus  to  Joliet  and  La  Salle,  or  from  Ponce  de  Leon 
to  Vitus  Bering.  The  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries  carried  far  toward  completion  the  work 
of  1492. 

In  our  brief  survey  of  the  work  of  discovery 
during  those  two  centuries,  one  striking  contrast 
forces  itself  upon  our  attention.  We  began  this 
chapter  in  company  with  Spaniards ;  toward  its 
close  our  comrades  have  been  chiefly  Frenchmen 
Oeasation  of  and  Englishmen.  In  the  days  of  Cortes 
pdi"g  Md  and  Magellan,  the  Spain  of  Charles  V. 
SiSyafter**^  was  the  foremost  power  in  the  world; 
*  in  the  days  of  La  Salle  the  France  of 
Louis  XIV.  was  the  foremost  power.  The  last 
years  of  Louis  XIV.  saw  Spain,  far  simken  from 
her  old  preeminence,  furnishing  the  bone  of  con- 
tention between  France  and  England  in  the  first 
of  the  two  great  struggles  which  won  for  England 
the  foremost  place.  As  regards  Americm  it  may 
be  observed  that  from  1492  until  about  1570  the 
exploring  and  colonizing  activity  of  Spain  vrss 
immense,  insomuch  that  upon  the  southern  half  of 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        666 

e  New  World  it  has  left  its  stamp  forever,  so 
at  to-day  the  Spanish  is  one  of  the  few  imperial 
aguages.  After  1570  this  wonderful  manifesta- 
in  of  Spanish  energy  practically  ceased,  and  this 
a  fact  of  supreme  importance  in  the  history  of 
)rth  America.  But  for  this  abrupt  cessation  of 
vanish  energy  the  English  settlements  at  James- 
wn  and  Plymouth  would  have  been  in  quite  as 
ngerous  a  position  as  Ribaut's  colony  in  Florida, 
is  worth  while,  therefore,  to  notice  one  or  two 
Mjuent  items  of  chronology.  In  1492  Spain  was 
ieved  of  a  task  which  had  long  absorbed  all  her 
al  energies,  the  work  of .  freeing  her  soil  from 
3  dominion  of  the  Moors.  In  1570  she  was  en- 
ing  upon  another  task  which  not  only  absorbed 
t  wellnigh  exhausted  her  energies,  the  attempt 
suppress  Protestantism  in  Europe  and  to  sub- 
o  the  revolted  Netherlands.  When  she  had 
ce  put  her  hand  to  this  work,  Spain  had  no 
rplus  vitality  left  for  extending  her  sway  in 
nerica.  She  was  scarcely  able  to  maintain  the 
3und  she  had  already  occupied ;  she  could  not 
Eend  the  West  Indies  against  the  buccaneers,  and 
3  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  saw  Hispaniola 
the  hands  of  France  and  Jamaica  in  the  hands 
England,  and  various  lesser  Alitilles  seized  by 
3  one  or  the  other  of  these  two  powers. 
It  is  furthermore  worthy  of  notice  that  there 
s  a  clear  causal  connection  between  the  task 
dch  Spain  finished  in  1492  and  that  upon  which 
3  entered  a  little  before  1570.  The  transition 
»m  the  crusade  against  the  infidel  to  the  crusade 
ainst  the  heretic  was  easy,  and  in  her  ease  almost 


556  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMEBIC  A. 

inevitable.  The  effects  of  the  long  Moorish  war 
upon  Spanish  character  and  Spanish 
s^l^ie  be-  policy  have  often  been  pointed  out.  The 
jjjjj^  Spaniard  of  the  sixteenth  century  was 
what  eight  hundred  years  of  terrible 
warfare,  for  home  and  for  religion,  had  made  him. 
During  a  period  as  long  as  that  which  in  English 
history  has  now  elapsed  since  the  death  of  William 
the  Conqueror,  the  Mussulman  invaders  held  sway 
in  some  part  of  the  Spanish  peninsula ;  yet  they 
never  succeeded  in  entering  into  any  sort  of  poUti- 
cal  union  with  the  native  inhabitants.  From  first 
to  last  they  behaved  as  invaders  and  were  treated 
as  invaders,  their  career  in  this  respect  forming  a 
curious  and  instructive  parallel  to  that  of  the  Turks 
in  eastern  Europe,  though  as  a  people  the  Arab- 
Moors  were  of  far  higher  type  than  Turks.  En- 
tering Spain  in  711,  they  soon  conquered  the  whole 
peninsula.  From  this  deluge  about  a  century  later 
the  Christian  kingdom  of  Leon  began  to  emerge. 
By  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century  the  Span- 
iards had  regained  half  their  country,  and  the 
Mahometans  were  placed  upon  the  defensive. 
By  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth,  the  Moorish  do- 
minion became  restricted  to  the  kingdom  of  Gra- 
nada ;  and  finally  we  have  seen  Granada  subdued 
in  the  same  year  in  which  Columbus  discovered 
America.  During  all  this  period,  from  711  to 
1492,  the  years  when  warfare  was  not  going  on 
along  the  fluctuating  frontier  between  Spaniard 
and  Moor  were  few  indeed.^  Among  the  Spaniards 
industrial  life  was  almost  destroyed.  The  way  to 
obtain  the  necessaries  of  life  was  to  make  raidi 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        667 

apon  the  Mussulmans,  and  the  career  of  the  bandit 
became  glorified.  In  the  central  and  southern 
provinces,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Moors  developed 
a  remarkable  industrial  civilization,  surpassing 
anything  to  be  seen  in  Oiristian  Europe  except 
in  Constantinople  down  to  the  end  of  the  twelfth 
century.  As  the  frontier  moved  gradually  south- 
ward, with  the  advance  of  the  Christians,  the  in- 
dustrious Mussulman  population  in  large  part 
became  converted  to  Christianity,  and  went  on  cul- 
tivating the  arts  of  life.  These  converts,  j^  ^^^^  ^^ 
who  were  known  as  Moriscoes,  were  al-  "»~^J»a- 

'  credit  upon 

ways  despised  and  ill-treated  by  the  J**»"'- 
Spaniards.  Such  a  state  of  things  continued  to 
throw  discredit  upon  labour.  Spinning  and  weav- 
ing and  tilling  the  soil  were  regarded  as  fit  occu- 
pations for  unclean  Moriscoes.  It  was  the  prerog- 
ative of  a  Christian  Spaniard  to  appropriate  the 
fruits  of  other  people's  labour ;  and  we  have  seen 
this  feeling  at  work  in  many  details  of  the  Span- 
ish conquest  in  America.  Not  that  it  was  at  all 
peculiar  to  Spaniards.  Devices  for  appropriating 
the  fruits  of  other  people's  labour  have  in  all  coun- 
tries been  multifarious,  from  tomahawks  to  tariffs. 
But  the  circumstances  of  Spanish  history  were 
such  as  to  cast  upon  labour  a  stigma  especially 
strong  by  associating  it  with  men  of  alien  race  and 
faith  who  were  scarcely  regarded  as  possessing  any 
rights  that  Christians  shoidd  feel  boimd  to  respect. 
This  prolonged  warfare  had  other  effects.  It 
combined  the  features  of  a  crusade  with  those  of 
a  fight  for  the  recovery  of  one's  patrimony.  The 
general  effect  of  the  great  Crusades,  which  brought 


558  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

different  Christian  peoples  in  contact  with  each 
other  and  opened  their  eyes  to  many  excellent  fea- 
tures in  eastern  civilization,  was  an  education  for 
Europe.  From  these  liberalizing  experiences  the 
Spanish  peninsida  was  in  great  measure  cut  off.  It 
was  absorbed  in  its  own  private  crusade,  and  there 
was  altogether  too  much  of  it.  While  other  nations 
occasionally  turned  their  attention  to  wars  of  reU- 
gion,  Spain  had  no  attention  left  for  anything  else. 
It  was  one  long  agony  through  five-and-twenty 
generations,  until  the  intruder  was  ousted.  Thus, 
although  Yisigothic  institutions  smacked  of  sturdy 
freedom  as  much  as  those  of  any  other  Germanic 
Its  effect  in  pcoplc,  nevertheless  this  tmceasing  mili- 
JSfST"^*  tancy  trained  the  Spaniards  for  despot- 
bigotry.  jgjj^      ^qt  thc  Same  reason  the  church 

acquired  more  overweening  power  than  anywhere 
else  in  Europe.  To  the  mediaeval  Spaniard  ortho- 
doxy was  practically  synonymous  with  patriotism, 
while  heresy  like  manual  industry  was  a  mark  of 
the  hated  race.  Unity  in  faith  came  to  be  regarded 
as  an  object  to  secure  which  no  sacrifices  whatever 
could  be  deemed  too  great.  Wlien,  therefore,  the 
Protestant  Reformation  came  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, its  ideas  and  its  methods  were  less  intelligible 
to  Spaniards  than  to  any  other  European  people. 
By  nature  this  land  of  mediaeval  ideas  was  thus 
marked  out  as  the  chief  antagonist  of  the  Refor- 
mation ;  and  when  it  was  attempted  to  extend  to 
the  Netherlands  the  odious  measures  that  were  en- 
dured in  Spain,  the  ensuing  revolt  called  fortli  all 
the  power  that  Philip  II.  could  summon  to  suppress 
it.     To  overthrow  the  rebellious  heretic  seemed  aa 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.         659 

sacred  a  duty  as  to  expel  the  Moslem.  A  crusade 
against  heresy,  headed  by  Pope  Innocent  III.  and 
Philip  Augustus  of  France,  had   once 

-  ,        .,,  1  i»    Spain's  cni- 

been  crowned  with  success,  and  one  of  »deinthe 
the  most  grewsome  chapters  m  human 
history  had  been  written  in  blood  at  Beziers  and 
Carcassonne.  Such  a  crusade  did  Spain  attempt 
against  the  Netherlands,  until  England,  too,  was 
drtwn  into  the  lists  against  her,  and  the  crisis 
was  reached  in  1588,  in  the  destruction  of  the  In- 
vincible Armada,  a  military  overthrow  scarcely 
paralleled  until  the  wreck  of  Napoleon's  army  in 
Russia. 

The  defeat  of  the  Armada  was  such  a  blow  to 
Spain's  prestige  that  France,  England,  and  the 
Netherlands  soon  proceeded  to  their  work  of  colo- 
nization in  North  America  with  little  fear  of  hin- 
drance. But  while  France  and  England  paid 
much  attention  to  America,  the  Dutch  paid  com- 
paratively little,  and  for  a  reason  that  is  closely 
linked  with  our  general  subject.  The  j,„^^^^ 
attention  of  the  Dutch  was  chiefly  con-  o«»nicdi»coT- 

•^  ery  in  develop- 

centrated  upon  the  East  Indies.  After  Jjf^^"^** 
the  Turks  had  cut  oflP  the  Mediterranean 
routes,  and  Portugal  had  gained  control  of  the 
Asiatic  trade,  the  great  Netherland  towns  began  to 
have  relatively  fewer  overland  dealings  with  Ven- 
ice and  Genoa,  and  more  and  more  maritime  deal- 
ings with  Lisbon.  The  change  favoured  the  Dutch 
more  than  the  Flemish  provinces,  by  reason  of  the 
greater  length  of  the  Dutch  coast  line.  By  dint 
of  marvellous  energy  and  skiU  the  coast  of  Holland 
and  Zealand  became  virtually  one  vast  seaport,  a 


660  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

distributing  centre  for  the  whole  north  of  Europe, 
and  during  the  sixteenth  century  the  volume  of 
Dutch  merchant  shipping  was  rapidly  and  steadily 
increased.    Now  it  happened  in  1578  that  the  King 
Sebastian  of  Portugal,  who  has  furnished  a  theme 
for  so  many  romantic  legends,  led  an  army  into  Mo- 
rocco, and  there  was  killed  in  battle.     Philip  11. 
forthwith  declared  the  throne  of  Portugal  vacant, 
and  in  1580  seized  the  kingdom  for  himself.     This 
act  abruptly  cut  off  the  East  India  trade  of  the 
Dutch,  and  at  the  same  time  it  made  all  tbe  Portu- 
guese colonies  dependencies  of  Spain,  and  thus  left 
the  Dutch  free  to  attack  them  wherever  they  saw 
fit.     Borgia's  meridian  was  thus  at  last  wiped  out. 
Conquest  of     A^ftcr  1588  thc  Dutch  proceeded  at  once 
™m  iJSiwi     ^  invade  the  colonial  world  of  Portugal, 
by  the  Dutch.    They   soou    established    themselves    in 
Java  and  Sumatra,  and  by  1607  they  had  gained 
complete  possession  of  the  Molucca  islands.     This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  empire  which  Holland 
possesses  to-day  in  the  East  Indies,  with  a  rich 
territory  four  times  as  large  as  France,  a  popula- 
tion of  30,000,000,  and  a  lucrative  trade.     From 
this  blow  Portugal  never  recovered.    She  regained 
her  independence  in   1640,  but   has   never  since 
shown  the  buoyant  vigour  that  made  the  days  of 
Prince  Henry  the  Navigator  and  of  Albuquerque 
80  remarkable. 

The  overthrow  of  the  Invincible  Armada  thus 
marks  the  downfall  of  maritime  power  for  both  the 
rival  nations  of  the  Iberian  peninsida.  It  would 
be  wrong,  however,  to  attribute  such  an  enduring 
calamity  to  a  single  great  naval  defeat,  or  even  to 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        661 

the  exhausting  effects  of  the  unsuccessful  war 
against  the  Dutch.  A  healthy  nation  quickly  re- 
pairs the  damage  wrought  by  a  military  catastro- 
phe, but  Spain  was  not  in  a  healthy  con-  Di,iatrou« 
dition.  The  overmastering  desire  to  put  ISJutiig**^'!?^! 
down  heresy,  to  expel  the  "accursed  '^'^ 
thing,"  possessed  her.  The  struggle  with  the 
Moors  had  brought  this  semi-suicidal  craving  to  a 
height  which  it  never  reached  with  any  other  Eu- 
ropean nation.  In  the  present  narrative  we  have 
had  occasion  to  observe  that  as  soon  as  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  had  finished  the  conquest  of  Granada, 
they  tried  to  add  to  the  completeness  of  their  tri- 
umph by  driving  aU  Jews  from  their  homes  and 
seizing  their  goods.  In  times  past,  the  conquered 
Moors  had  in  great  numbers  embraced  Christian- 
ity, but  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  Spaniards 
tolerated  the  presence  of  these  Moriscoes  in  their 
cotmtry.^  In  1568,  the  Moriscoes,  goaded  by  ill 
treatment,  rose  in  rebellion  among  the  moimtains 
of  Granada,  and  it  took  three  years  of  obstinate 
fighting  to  bring  them  to  terms.  Their  defeat  was 
so  crushing  that  they  ceased  to  be  dangerous  polit- 
ically, but  their  orthodoxy  was  gravely  suspected. 
In  1602  the  archbishop  of  Valencia  proposed  that 

^  On  the  rich  and  important  snhject  of  the  Moors  in  Spaic, 
see  Al  Makkari,  Uittory  of  the  Mohammedan  Dynasties  in  Spain^ 
transl.  by  Gayangos,  London,  1840,  2  vols,  in  quarto;  Conde, 
Dominacion  de  las  Arabes  en  Espaha,  Paris,  1840  (to  be  read  with 
cantion) ;  Copp^e,  Conquest  of  Spain  by  the  Arab-Moors^  Boston, 
1881,  2  vols. ;  Reinand,  Invasions  des  Sarrazins  en  France^  Paris, 
1836 ;  Ch^nier,  Recnerches  historiques  sur  Us  Maures,  Paris,  1787, 
3  vols. ;  Circourt,  Histoire  des  Mores  Mudejares  et  des  Morisques, 
Paris,  1846,  3  vols. ;  see,  also,  with  reference  to  the  Jews,  QrsetsE, 
Les  JuifM  d'Etpagne,  Paris,  1872. 


662  TUE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

all  the  Moriscoes  in  the  kingdom,  except  children 
under  seven  years  of  age,  should  be  driven  into 
exile,  that  Spain  might  no  longer  be  polluted  by 
the  merest  suspicion  of  unbelief.  The  archbishop 
of  Toledo,  primate  of  Spain,  wished  to  banish  the 
Expulsion  of  children  also.  It  is  said  that  Friar  Ble- 
JiSn^s^liT'  da,  the  Dominican,  urged  that  aU  Moris- 
^®°®-  coes,  even  to  the  new-bom  babe,  should 

be  massacred,  since  it  was  impossible  to  tell 
whether  they  were  Christians  at  heart  or  not,  and 
it  might  safely  be  left  to  God  to  select  his  own. 
The  views  of  the  primate  prevailed,  and  in  1609, 
about  a  million  people  were  turned  out  of  doors 
and  hustled  off  to  Morocco.  These  proceedings 
involved  an  amount  of  murder  that  has  been  esti- 
mated as  about  equivalent  to  the  massacre  of  St 
Bartholomew.  Of  the  unfortunate  people  who 
reached  Africa,  thousands  perished  of  hunger,  or 
were  slain  by  robbers,  or  kidnapped  into  slavery. 

These  Moriscoes,  thus  driven  from  the  land  by 
ecclesiastical  bigotry,  joined  with  hatred  of  their 
race,  were  the  most  skilful  labourers  Spain  pos- 
sessed. By  their  expulsion  the  manufacture  of 
Terrible  ^^^  ^^^  paper  was  destroyed,  the  culti- 

con-equence..     ^^^j^^    ^£    ^^^^^    ^^^^  ^^^    COttoU    Came 

to  an  end,  the  wool-trade  stopped  short,  and  irri- 
gation of  the  soil  was  discontinued.  The  disturb- 
ance of  industry,  and  the  consequent  distress, 
were  so  far-reaching  that  in  the  course  of  the  next 
seventy  years  the  population  of  Madrid  was  de- 
crt>a.sed  by  one  half,  and  that  of  Seville  by  three 
quarters  ;  whole  villages  were  deserted,  large  po^ 
tious  of  arable  land  went  out  of  cultivation  and 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES,         663 

brigandage  gained  a  foothold  which  it  has  kept  al- 
most down  to  the  present  day.  The  economic  ruin 
of  Spain  may  be  said  to  date  from  the  expulsion  of 
the  Moriscoes.  Yet  no  deed  in  history  was  ever  done 
with  clearer  conscience  or  more  imanimous  self- 
approval  on  the  part  of  the  perpetrators  than  this. 
Even  the  high-minded  and  gentle-hearted  Cervantes 
applauded  it,  while  Davila  characterized  it  as  the 
crowning  glory  of  Spanish  history.  This  approval 
was  the  outcome  of  a  feeling  so  deeply  ingrained 
in  the  Spanish  mind  that  we  sometimes  see  curious 
remnants  of  it  to-day,  even  among  Spaniards  of 
much  liberality  and  enlightenment.  Thus  the  em- 
inent historian  Lafuente,  writing  in  1856,  freely 
confessed  that  the  destruction  of  Moorish  indus- 
tides  was  economically  a  disaster  of  the  first  mag- 
nitude ;  but  after  all,  he  says,  just  think  what  an 
*' immense  advantage"  it  was  to  establish  "reli- 
gious unity  "  throughout  the  nation  and  get  rid  of 
differences  in  opinion.^  Just  so:  to  insure  that 
from  the  Pyrenees  to  Gibraltar  all  people  should 
appear  to  think  exactly  alike  about  questions  con- 
fessedly unfathomable  by  human  intelligence, — 
this  seemed  to  the  Spaniards  an  end  of  such  su- 
preme importance  as  to  justify  the  destruction  of  a 
hundred  thousand  lives  and  the  overthrow  of  some 
of  the  chief  industries  of  the  kingdom.  It  was  a 
terrible  delusion,  but  perhaps  we  are  not  entitled 
to  blame  the  Spaniards  too  severely  when  we  re- 
flect that  even  among  ourselves,  in  spite  of  all  the 
liberalizing  influences  to  which  the  English  race 

^  Lafaentei  HUtoria  de  EspaSia,  Madrid,  1856,  torn.  zyii.  p 
34a 


SM  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA: 

ku  so  long  bem  sab jeeted^  die  leaoon  k  onhr  jmil 
beginniiig  to  be  learned  duit  variety  in  religioiu 
beliefs  is  not  aa  eril,  but  m  pontiTe  benefit  to  s 
Uaif ^raity  ia  cvniiieA  comnnmity,  whereas  muf oinuij 
S^k^Jt^  in  belief  sboold  be  dreaded  as  tending 
*^'^**^^  toward  Chinese  narrowness  and  stagna- 
tion. This  is  the  tme  les8<m  of  Protestantism,  ai^ 
it  is  through  this  lesstm,  howeyer  imperfectly 
learned,  that  Protestantism  has  done  so  mnch  to 
save  the  world  from  torpor  and  paralyds. 

But  it  was  not  merely  in  the  expulsion  of  the 
Moriscoes  that  the  Spanish  policy  of  enforcing 
uniformity  was  suicidaL  Indeed,  the  disastrous 
effects  which  we  are  wont  to  attribute  to  that  strik- 
ing catastrophe  cannot  really  be  explained  without 
taking  into  account  another  and  still  more  potent 
cause.  The  deadly  Inquisition,  working  steadily 
and  quietly  year  after  year  while  fourteen  genera- 
tions lived  and  died,  wrought  an  amount  of  disaster 
which  it  is  difficult  for  the  mind  to  grasp.     Some 

eight  or  ten  years  ago  an  excavation 
work  of  the     happened  to  be  made  in  the  Plaza  Cruz 

del  Quemadero  in  Madrid,  the  scene  of 
tlio  most  terrible  part  of  Victor  Hugo's  *'  Torque- 
nuula.*'  Just  below  the  surface  the  workmen  came 
upon  a  thick  stratum  of  black  earth  150  feet  long. 
On  further  digging  it  was  foimd  to  consist  chiefly 
of  oiiloined  human  bones,  with  here  and  there  a 
fnijjmont  of  burnt  clothing.  Dark  layers  varying 
frtuu  tkrtH>  to  nine  inches  in  thickness  were  here 
»ml  thore  interrupted  by  very  thin  strata  of  cky 
ur  AaiuK^     A  singular  kind  of  geological  problem 

^  TUU  U«po«it  was  examined  by  men  cxf  wdeiice  and  antiqn* 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        665 

was  thus  suggested :  how  many  men  and  women 
must  have  died  in  excruciating  torments  in  order  to 
build  up  that  infernal  deposit?  During  the  fifteen 
years  when  Torquemada  was  inquisitor-general, 
from  1483  to  1498,  about  10,000  persons  were 
burned  alive.  The  rate  was  probably  not  much 
diminished  during  the  sixteenth  century,  and  the 
practice  was  kept  up  until  late  in  the  eighteenth ; 
the  last  burning  of  a  heretic  was  in  1781.  From 
the  outset  the  germs  of  Protestantism  were  steadily 
and  completely  extirpated.  We  sometimes  hear  it 
said  that  persecution  cannot  kill  a  good  cause,  but 
tiiat  "  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the 
church."  This  is  apt  to  be  true  because  it  is 
seldom  that  sufficient  unanimity  of  public  opinion 
is  enlisted  in  support  of  persecution  to  make  it 
thorough.  It  was  not  true  in  Spain.  The  Inqui- 
sition there  did  suppress  free  thought  most  effec- 
tively. It  was  a  machine  for  winnowing  out  and 
destroying  all  such  individuals  as  surpassed  the  av- 
erage in  quickness  of  wit,  earnestness  of  purpose, 
and  strength  of  character,  in  so  far  as  to  entertain 
opinions  of  their  own  and  boldly  declare  itwaaaderioe 
them.  The  more  closely  people  ap-  {j^iSSilSSof 
proaehed  an  elevated  standard  of  intel-  **"•  uufitte«t. 
ligence  and  moral  courage,  the  more  likely  was  the 
machine  to  reach  them.  It  worked  with  such 
fiendish  efficiency  that  it  was  next  to  impossible 
for  such  people  to  escape  it ;  they  were  strangled 

rians,  and  the  newspapers  began  publishing  the  details  of  their 
investigations,  whereat  the  clergy  grew  uneasy,  and  persuaded  the 
goyemment  to  have  the  whole  stratum  dug  away  and  removed  as 
qnickly  as  possible,  so  as  to  avoid  further  scandal.  See  The  Nc^ 
Hon,  New  York,  1883,  voL  xxxyi.  p.  470. 


566  THE  DISCOVERT  OF  AMERICA. 

and  burned  by  tens  of  thousands,  and  as  tlie  meT« 
itable  result,  the  average  character  of  the  Spanish 
people  was  lowered.^  The  brightest  and  boldest 
were  cut  off  in  their  early  prime,  while  duller  and 
weaker  ones  were  spared  to  propagate  the  race ; 
until  the  Spaniard  of  the  eighteenth  century  was 
a  much  less  intelligent  and  less  enterprising  person 
than  the  Spaniard  of  the  sixteenth.  Such  damage 
is  not  easily  repaired ;  the  competition  amiong  na- 
tions is  so  constant  and  so  keen,  that  when  a  people 
have  once  clearly  lost  their  hold  upon  the  foremost 
position  they  are  not  likely  to  regain  it. 

Under  this  blighting  rule  of  the  Inquisition  the 
general  atmosphere  of  thought  in  Spain  remained 
medisBval.  Ideas  and  methods  which  other  nations 
were  devising,  to  meet  the  new  exigencies  of  mod- 
em  life,  were  denied  admission  to  that 
policy  of         unfortunate  country.     In  manufactures, 

cnuhiug  out        .  •     xL  j.      i     i?  xi_ 

indiTHiiudLsm  in  commcrcc,  m  the  control  of  the  various 
miir^rsai  aUf-  sourccs  of  Wealth,  Spain  was  soon  left 
behind  by  nations  in  which  the  popular 
intelligence  was  more  flexibly  wielded,  and  from 
which  the  minds  hospitable  toward  new  idelis  had 
not  been  so  carefully  weeded  out.     It  was  not  in 

^  In  thb  connection  the  reader  should  carefully  stndy  the  ad- 
mirable book  lately  published  by  our  great  historian  of  medi«BTal 
institutions,  Henry  Charles  Lea,  Chapters  from  the  Religious  Bis- 
torjf  of  Sp<un^  Philadelphia,  1890.  I  have  been  especially  struck 
with  the  chapter  on  the  **  Censorship  of  the  Press,'*  where  the 
subject  is  treated  with  a  prodigious  wealth  of  learning.  We  are 
apt  to  »gh  orer  popular  ignorance  even  in  these  days  of  elaborate 
educational  appliances  and  untrammelled  freedom  of  discussion. 
Under  the  rule  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition  all  the  zeal  and  energy 
which  we  now  derote  to  dereloping  and  stimulating  popular  in* 
taUig«ii06  was  dsToted  to  stunting  and  repressing  it. 


THE  WORK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.         667 

religious  matters  only,  but  in  all  the  affairs  of  life, 
that  the  dull  and  rigid  conservatism  was  shown. 
Amid  the  general  stagnation  and  lack  of  enter- 
prise, and  with  the  universal  discredit  of  labour,  the 
stream  of  gold  and  silver  poured  into  Spain  from 
the  New  World  did  more  harm  than  good,  inas- 
much as  its  chief  effect  was  to  diminish  the  pur- 
chasing power  of  the  precious  metals.  Econom- 
ically, perhaps,  the  whole  situation  might  be 
summed  up  by  saying  that  Spanish  expenditure 
was  not  productive  but  improductive,  and  not  sim- 
ply unproductive  but  destructive.  It  was  devoted 
to  checking  the  activities  of  the  human  mind,  to 
doing  precisely  the  reverse  of  what  we  are  trying 
to  do  in  these  days  with  books  and  newspapers, 
schools  and  lectures,  copyrights  and  patents. 

It  is  profoundly  significant  that  the  people  who 
have  acquired  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  mari- 
time empire  to  which  Spain  once  aspired,  and  who 
have  supplanted  her  in  the  best  part  of  the  terri- 
tories to  which  she  once  felt  entitled  in  virtue  of 
Borgia's  bulls,  should  be  the  people  who  have  dif- 
fered most  widely  from  the  Spaniards  in  their  atti- 
tude toward  novelties  of  doctrine  and  indepen- 
dence of  thought.  The  policy  of  England,  in 
givmg  full  play  to  individualism,  has  it  has  been  the 
developed  a  type  of  national  character  ^"dU^?e"*" 
imsurpassed  for  buoyancy.  No  class  of  {idiWdSi-^ 
people  in  England  ever  acquired  such  "°*' 
control  of  the  whole  society  as  the  clergy  acquired 
in  Spain.  In  the  worst  days  of  English  history 
attempts  have  been  made  to  crush  individuality  of 
thought  and  to  put  a  stop  to  the  free  discussion  of 


568  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

« 
religions  and  political  questions.      But   snch  a^ 

tempts  have  been  feeble  and  sporadic ;  no  snch 
policy  has  ever  prevailed.  The  history  of  religions 
persecution  in  England  affords  a  most  suggestive 
illustration.  The  burning  of  heretics  began  in 
1401,  and  the  last  instance  occurred  in  ICll. 
During  that  time  the  total  number  of  executions 
for  heresy  was  about  400.  Of  these  about  300 
occurred  in  the  brief  spasm  of  1555-57  under 
Mary  Tudor,  daughter  of  a  Spanish  princess,  and 
wife  of  the  worst  of  Spain's  persecuting  raonarchs. 
The  total  of  100  victims  scattered  through  the  rest 
of  that  period  of  two  centuries  makes  a  startling 
contrast  to  what  was  going  on  in  other  countries. 
As  no  type  of  character  has  thus  been  sedulously 
winnowed  out  by  violent  methods,  neither  has  any 
set  of  people  ever  been  expelled  from  England, 
like  the  Moriscoes  from  Spain  or  the  Huguenots 
from  France.  On  the  contrary,  ever  since  the 
days  of  the  Plantagenets  it  has  been  a  maxim  of 
English  law  that  whosoever  among  the  hunted  and 
oppressed  of  otlier  realms  should  set  his  foot  on 
the  soil  of  Britain  became  forthwith  free  and  enti- 
tled to  all  the  protection  that  England's  stout  arm 
could  afford.  On  that  hospitable  soil  all  types  of 
character,  all  varieties  of  temperament,  all  shades 
of  iK'lief ,  have  flourished  side  by  side,  and  have  in- 
ThtktpoUcT  teracted  upon  one  another  until  there 
Km  be^n  tii«  h^g  bccu  cvolvcd  a  racc  of  men  in  the 
Jjj*  •JJ'***^  highest  degree  original  and  enterprising, 
■iir^woKmli**  plastic  and  cosmopolitan.  It  is  chiefly 
this  circumstance,  combined  with  their 
•ucoi'^ul  preservation  of  self-government,  that  has 


THE  WOEK  OF  TWO  CENTURIES.        669 

won  for  men  of  English  speech  their  imperial  po- 
sition in  the  modem  world.  When  we  contrast 
the  elastic  buoyancy  of  spirit  in  Shakespeare's 
England  with  the  gloom  and  heaviness  that  were 
then  creeping  over  Spain,  we  find  nothing  strange 
in  the  fact  that  the  most  populous  and  powerful 
nations  of  the  New  World  speak  English  and  not 
Spanish.  It  was  the  people  of  Great  Britain  that, 
with  flexible  and  self-reliant  intelligence,  came  to 
be  foremost  in  devising  methods  adapted  to  the 
growth  of  an  industrial  civilization,  leaving  the 
Middle  Ages  far  behind.  Wherever,  in  any  of 
the  regions  open  to  colonization,  this  race  has  come 
into  competition  with  other  European  races,  it  has 
either  vanquished  or  absorbed  them,  always  prov- 
ing its  superior  capacity.  Sometimes  the  contest 
has  assumed  the  form  of  strife  between  a  civiliza- 
tion based  upon  wholesome  private  enterprise  and 
a  civilization  based  upon  government  patronage. 
Such  was  the  form  of  the  seventy  years'  conflict 
that  came  to  a  final  decision  upon  the  Heights  of 
Abraham,  and  not  the  least  interesting  circum- 
stance connected  with  the  discovery  of  this  broad 
continenk  is  the  fact  that  the  struggle  for  the  pos- 
session of  it  has  revealed  the  superior  vitality  of 
institutions  and  methods  that  first  came  to  matu- 
rity in  England  and  now  seem  destined  to  shape 
the  future  of  the  world. 


APPENDIX  A. 

NELLl'S    LETTER     TO    COLUMBUS,   WITH    THE    EN- 
CLOSED LETTER  TO   MARTINEZ. 

;  Latiii  is  the  original  text,  for  an  aeoonnt  of  which  see 
ToL  L  p.  356,  note  3.  The  Italian  is  from  the  yersion  in 
ta  deW  AmmiragliOf  conoeming  which  M.  Harriase  says  that 
tite-inezact  et  interpose."  I  have  here  italicised  the  por- 
f  either  text  which  do  not  occnr  in  the  other,  so  that  the 
may  judge  for  himself  how  far  snch  a  charge  is  justified. 

A  Cristoforo  Colombo 
Paolo  fisico  salute.  lo  veg^ 
go  il  nobile  e  gran  desiderio 
tao  di  voler  passar  Ik,  dove 
nascono  le  spezerie,  onde 
per  rispoeta  d'  una  tua  let- 
tera  ti  mando  la  copia  d'  un' 
altra  lettera,  che  alquanti 
giorni  fa  io  scrissi  ad  un 
mio  amico,  domestico  del 
serenissimo  re  di  Porto- 
gallo,  avanti  le  guerre  di 
Castiglia,  in  risposta  d*  un' 
altra,  che  per  commissione 
di  Sua  Altezza  egli  mi 
scrisse  sopra  detto  case :  e 
ti  mando  on'  altra  carta 
navigatoria,  simile  a  qnella 
ch'  io  mandai  a  lui,  per 
la  qual  resteranno  soddis- 


672 


AFPESDIX  A. 


Copia  misa  christolaro 
colonbo  per  paulnm  fisicmn 
cum  una  carta  navigacionis. 

Ferdinando  martini  ca- 
nonico  vlixiponensi  paulos 
phisicus  salutem.  a  tua 
valitudine  de  gracia  et  fa- 
miliaritate  cum  rege  vestro 
genero[8i8s]imo  [et]  mag- 
nificentissimo  principe  io- 
cundum  mihi  fuit  intelli- 
gere.  cum  tecum  allias 
locutus  sum  de  breuiori  via 
ad  loca  aromatum  per  ma- 
r  i  t  i  m  a  m  navigacionem 
quam  sit  ea  quam  facitis 
per  guineam,  querit  nunc 
S[ereni88iraus]  rex  a  me 
quandam  declaracionem 
ymo  potius  ad  occulum  os- 
tonsionem  vt  etiam  medio- 
triter  doti  illam  viam  ca- 
|H»rt>nt  et  intelligerent. 
Kgt>  autem  quamvis  cognos- 
cnm  |H^sse  hoc  ostendi  per 
formaiu  s})ericam  ut  est 
iuuiu)u8  tameii  determi- 
naui«  pro  faoiliori  intelli- 
j;:v«K^ia  nc  etiam  pro  faci- 
lu^ri  o|Mt*ra»  ostendere,  viam 
UUm  |H^r  quam  carte  na- 
ti^:«cu4iU    fiuut  illud  de- 


fatte  le  tae  dimande.  Lft 
copia  di  qiiella  mia  letten 
^  qiiesta. 


A    Fernando    Martinei 
canonico  di  Lasbona  Paolo 
fisico    salute.      Molto  mi 
piacque  intendere  la  domes- 
tichezza  che  tu  hai  col  too 
sereniss.  e    magnificentiss. 
re,  e  quantunque  volte  io 
abbia  ragionato  del  brevU- 
simo  canmiino  che  ^  di  qoa 
all'  IndU,  dove  nascono  le 
spezerie,   per    la    via  del 
mare,  il  quale  io  tengo  pii^ 
breve  di  quel  che  voi  fate 
per  Guinea,  tu  mi  dici  che 
Sua  Altezza  vorrebbe  ora 
da    me    alcuna    dichisjar 
zione,  o  diraostrazione,  a^ 
ciocchfe  si  intenda  e  si  pos^ 
prendere    detto    cammit*^ 
Laonde,  come  ch'  io  sapj^^ 
di  poter  ci6  mostrarle  ^^^ 
la  sfera  in   mano,  e  f^^^ 
veder  come  sta  il  mon^^^  ' 
nondimeno    ho    delibec*"^ 
per  piii  facility  e  per  n^»^*^ 
giore  intelligenza  dimos^:::^ 
detto    cammino    per 
carta  simile  a  quelle  ch 
finno  per  navigare,  e 


^  ji- 


THE  TOSCANELLI  LETTERS. 


67S 


elarare.  Mito  ergo  8ue 
Maiestati  cartam  manibiis 
meis  lactam  in  qua  desig- 
nantiir 


litora  vestra  et  insule  ex 
quibus  incipiatis  iter  f acere 
verius  occasum  senper 

et  loca  ad  que  debeatis 
peruenire  et  quantum  a 
polo  vel  a  linea  eqninotiali 
debeatis  declinare  et  per 
quantum  spacium  siue  per 
quot  miliaria  debeatis  per- 
aenire  ad  loca  fertilissima 
omnium  aromatum  et  ge- 
marum,  et  non  miremini  si 
voco  occidentales  partes 
vbi  sunt  aromata  cum  com- 
mtmiter  dicantur  orientales, 


quia  nauigantibus  ad  occi- 
dentem  senper  ille  partes 
inueniuntur  per  subterra- 
neas  nauigaciones.  Sienim 
per  terram  et  per  supe- 
riora  itinera,  ad  orientem 
senper  reperrientur  ^  linee 
ergo  recte   in   longitudine 


la  mando  a  Sua  Maestk 
fatta  e  disegnata  di  mia 
mano  :  nella  quale  h  dipinto 
tutto  il  fine  del  ponente^ 
pigliando  da  Irlanda  aJV 
austro  insino  al  fin  di 
Guinea,  con  tutte  le  isole 
che  in  ttUto  questo  cam^ 
mino  giacciono  ;  per  fronte 
alle  quali  dritto  per  ponen- 
te  giace  dipinto  il  princir 
pio  delV  Indie  con  le  isole 
e  luoghi  dove  potete  andare, 
e  quanto  dal  polo  artico  vi 
potete  discostare  per  la 
linea  equinoziale,  e  per 
quanto  spazio,  cio^  in  quan- 
te  leghe  potete  giungere  a 
quei  luoghi  fertilissimi  d' 
ogni  sorte  di  spezeria,  e  di 
gemme  e  pietre  preziose. 
£  non  abbiate  a  maravi-^ 
glia,  se  io  chiamo  Ponente 
il  paese  ove  nasce  la  spe- 
zeria, la  qual  comunemente 
dicesi  che  nasce  in  Le- 
yanti ;  perciocch^  coloro, 
che  navigheranno  al  pa* 
nente,  sempre  troveranno 
detti  luoghi  in  ponente ;  e 
quelli,  che  anderanno  per 
terra  al  levante,  sempre 
troveranno  detti  luoghi  in 
levante.      Le  linee  dritte. 


^  Read  rtperierUwr. 


674 


APPENDIX  A. 


carte  signate  ostendont  dis- 
tanciam  ab  orientem  ^  ver- 
sas  occidensy  qne  aatem 
transaerse  sant,  ostendunt 
spacia  a  meridie  versus  8e)>- 
teiitrionem.  notaui  autem 
in  caii;a  diuersa  loca  ad 
que  peruenira  potestis  pro 
niaiori  noticia  nauigancium 
siae  ventis  vel  casu  aliqao 
alibi  quam  existiiiiarent 
venirent ;  partin  *  a%item  vt 
ostendant  incolis  ipsos  ha- 
iere  naticiam  aliquam  pa- 
trie  illiusy  quod  debebU 
esM  toeundum  satis* 


noQ  considant  *  autem  in 
insulis  nisi  mercatores  ase- 
rit«^  ibi  enim  tanta  copia 
oarigancium  est  cum  mer- 
rinioniis  vt  in  toto  reliquo 
orb«  noQ  sint  sicnti  in 
mo  porta  nobilisimo  vocato 
laitoQ*    aserant  enim  cen* 


che  giaceioDo  al  longo  in 
detta  carta,  dimortrano  k 
distanza  che  h  dal  ponente 
al  levante ;  le  altre,  che 
Bono  per  obliqno,  dimo- 
strano  la  distanza  che  h 
daila  tramontana  al  mezr 
zogiomo.  Ancora  io  di- 
pinsi  in  detta  carta  mold 
luoghi  nelle  parte  delT  In' 
dia  dove  si  potrebbe  an- 
dare,  awenendo  alcun  caso 
di  fortuna  o  di  venti  con- 
trari,  o  qualanqne  altro 
caso,  die  non  si  aspettasse, 
che  dovesse  avvenire. 

E  appressOy  per  darvi 
piena  infamuusione  di  tutit 
quei  luoghiy  i  qtuUi  de- 
siderate  motto  conoscert^ 
sappiate,  che  in  tntte  quelle 
isole  non  abitano  n^  pra* 
ticano  altri  che  merca- 
tanti ;  avvertendovi  quivi 
essere  cosl  gran  quautiU 
di  navi  e  di  marinari  con 
mercatanzie,  come  in  ogni 
altra  parte  del  mondo^ 
specialmente  in  un  porto 


^  RmmI  «rinite.  *  Read  jMirftm. 

*  RmmI  OMISw/llllC 

^  I>Nltt|tt  mMunt  for  osMTiftir,  "  it  is  related.**  Colnnibas  may 
Wat>»  foi|;gtt«B  to  finish  the  word.  Or  perhaps  Toscanelli  msf 
Wat«  UMdwitMtly  iMod  the  aotiTe  as$erit,  "  he  relates,"  meaaiiy 

MttNiilNlliO^    I 


THE  TOSCANELLI  LETTERS. 


575 


tarn  naues  piperis  magne 
in  eo  porta  singulis  annis 
deferri,  sine  aliis  nauibos 
portantibns  allia  aromata. 
patria  ilia  est  populatisinia 
ditisima  multitudine  pro- 
ninciaram  et  regnorum  et 
cinitatam  sine  numero,  sub 
ynoprincipe  qui  dicitur  mag- 
nus  Kan  quod  nomen  sig- 
nificat  in  latino  rex  regum, 
cuius  sedes  et  residencia  est 
Yt  plurimum  in  provincia 
Katay.  antiqui  sui  desi- 
derabant  consorcium  chris- 
tianorum  iam  sunt  .200. 
annis,^  miscerunt^  ad  pa- 
pain et  poetulabant  plurimos 
dotos  in  fide  vt  iUumina- 
rentur ;  sed  qui  missi  sunt, 
inpediti  in  itinera  redie- 
runt.     etiam 


tempore  Eugenii  venit  vnus 
ad  eugenium  qui  de  beni- 
uolentia  magna  erga  chris- 
tianos  afirmabat  et  ego 

^  Read 
'Bead 


nobilissimo,  chiamato  Zai« 
ton,  dove  caricano  e  dis- 
caricano  ogni  anno  cento 
navi  grosse  di  pepe,  oltre 
alle  molte  altre  navi,  che 
caricano  altre  spezerie. 
Questo  paese  ^  popolatis- 
simo,  e  sono  molte  pro- 
vincie  e  molti  regni  e  cittk 
senza  numero  sotto  il  do- 
minio  di  un  principe  chia- 
mato il  gran  Cane,  il  qual 
nome  vuol  dire  re  de*  re, 
la  residei.za  del  quale  la 
maggior  parte  del  tempo  ^ 
nella  provincia  del  Cataio. 
I  suoi  antecessori  desidera* 
rono  molto  aver  pratica  e 
amicizia  con  cristiani,  e 
gi^  dugento  anni  manda- 
rono  ambasciatori  al  sommo 
pontefice,  supplicandolo  che 
gli  mandasse  molti  savij  e 
dottori,  che  gl*  insegnassero 
la  nostra  fede,  ma  per  gF 
impedimenti  ch'  ebbero 
detti  ambasciatori,  torna- 
rono  indietro  senza  arri- 
vare  a  Roma.  E  ancora 
a  papa  Eugenie  IV.  venne 
uno  ambasciatore,  il  quale 
gli  raccont6  la  grande  ami- 
cizia che  quel  principi  e  i 

anni. 
miserunt. 


APPENDIX  A. 


Mcnm  longo  Mrmone  loea- 
tDi  ram  de  mnltiB,  de  nu^ 
nitudine  «dificionim  re- 
galiom  et  de  magnitndiiM 
Bniunm'  in  latitadine  et 
loDgitudine  mirabili  et  de 
tnnltibidine  cinitatmn  in 
ripia  flaniam,'  rt  in  vno 
flumina  .200.  ctmter  ciai- 
tates  aint  constitate,  et 
pontes  marniorei  magne 
Utitudlnig  et  longitudinia 
vndiqne  colonpnis  am  ad. 
bee  patria  digna  est  rt  per 
latinos  queratur,  non  solam 
quia  lucra  ingencia  ex  ea 
capi  pOBunt  auri  ar^oti 
gemarum  omnis  generis  et 
aroroatum  que  nnnqnam  ad 
nos  def eruntnr,  venim  prop- 
ter doctoB  Tiros  pfailosofoa 
et  astiologoa  peritos  et  qui- 
biu  ingeniis  et  artibuB  ita 
potens  et  magiiifica  proiiiD- 
eia  gubementur  *  ac  etUm 
bella  condncant.  bee  pro 
aliquantnla  satisfactione  ad 
■aain  peticiocem,  quantum 
breuitas  temporis  dedit  et 
or«apariones  mee  conscep- 
•t<miDt,*  paratns  in  futn- 
runt  TVgie  maiestati  qoan- 


loropopali  banno  eoi  cii» 
tiaoi ;  e  io  parlai  lui^ 
mente  con  Ini  di  molte  com, 
e  ddle  gnndezs«  deDe  i» 
bricbe  rq^aU,  e  della  gn»- 
•etia  de'  fiumi  in  largbeui 
•  in  longheua,  ed  ei  mi 
disse  molte  cose  maraTi- 
gliose  della  moltitadin* 
delle  cittk  e  luoghi  che  hm 
fondatt  nelle  rive  loro;  • 
che  solamente  in  nn  fiumt 
si  trovava  dngento  citii 
edificate  con  ponte  di  pia- 
tre  di  marmo,  molto  larghi 
e  lunghi,  adomati  di  molts 
colonne.  Qaesto  paese  ^ 
degno  tanto,  quanto  ogni 
altro,  cbe  si  abbia  trorate . 
e  non  solamente  vi  si  pub 
trovar  grandiasimo  gnada- 
gno,  e   molte  cose  ricebe 


e  pletre  preiiose,  e  di  (^ni 
Borte  di  spezieria  in  grande 
qnantitJt,  detla  quale  mai 
non  si  porta  in  qneste  noe- 
tre  parti.  Ed  &  il  vero, 
cbe  molti  nomini  dotd,  filo- 
sofi,  e  astrolc^,  a  altri 
grandi  saTij  in  tntte  le  arti, 
e  di  grande  ingegno  go- 
quella  gmn  ^to- 
Bead  suknwlv. 


THE  T03CANELLI  LETTERS. 


677 


torn  volet  latdus  satisfacere. 
data  florencie  25  ianii 
1474. 


A  ciuitate  vlixiponis  per 
occidentem  in  directo  sunt 
.26.  spacia  in  carta  signata 
qaorum  quodlibet  babet 
miliaria  .250.  vsque  ad 
nobili8im[am]  et  maxi- 
mam  cioitatem  quinsay.  cir- 
cuit enim  centum  miliaria 
et  habet  pontes  decem  et 
nomen  eius  sonat  cita  del 
eielo  ciuitas  celi  et  multa 
miranda  de  ea  narrantur, 
de  multitudine  artificium 
et  de  reditibus.  hoc  spa- 
cium  est  fere  tercia  pars 
tocius  spere,  que  ciuitas 
est  in  prouincia  mangi, 
sine  yicina  prouincie  Katay 


yincia,  e  ordinano  le  bat- 
taglie.  II  E  questo  ^  sia 
per  sodisfazione  delle  vos- 
tre  ricbieste,  quanto  la 
brevitk  del  tempo,  e  le  mie 
occupazioni  mi  hanno  con- 
cesso.  £  cosl  io  resto  pron- 
tissimo  a  soddisfare  e  ser- 
Tir  sua  altezza,  compiuta- 
mente  in  tutto  quelle  che 
mi  comanderk.  Da  Fio- 
renza,  ai  25  giugno  dell' 
anno  1474.  ||  Dalla  citt^ 
di  Lisbona  per  diitto  verso 
ponente  sono  in  detta 
carta  ventisei  spazj,  ciascun 
de*  quali  contien  dugento  e 
cinquanta  miglia,  fino  alia 
nobilissima  e  gran  citt^  di 
Quisal,  la  quale  gira  cento 
miglia  chs  sono  trentacirir 
que  leghe ;  ove  sono  dieci 
ponti  di  pietra  di  marmore. 
II  nome  di  questa  cittit  sig- 
nified Cittk  del  Cielo,  della 
qual  si  narrano  cose  mara- 
vigliose  intomo  alia  gran- 
dezza  degli  ingegni,  e  fa- 
briche,  e  rendite.  Questo 
spazio  h  quasi  la  terza 
parte   della  sfera.      Giace 


^  In  the  Italian  arrangfement  this  passage  is  transposed  to  the 
end  of  the  letter,  and  the  passage  "  Dalla  citt&  di  Lisbona,'*  etc 
(which  in  the  Latin  arrangement  forms  a  postscript)  follows  im« 
mediately  after  '*  battaglie.*' 


678 


APPENDIX  A. 


m  qua  resldencia  terre 
regia  est.  Sed  ab  insula 
antilia  yobis 


nota  ad  insalam  nobilisi- 
mam  cippanga  sunt  decern 
spacia.     est  enim 


ilia  insula  fertilissima 
anr[o]  margaritis  et  gem- 
mis,  et  anro  solido  coope- 
riunt  tenpla  et  domos  re- 
giasy    ito/que  per   ygnota 


itinera  rum  rruigna  maris 
spa^cia  transeundunu  mui- 
taforta^se  essent  aperitus  ^ 
declarandoy  sed    dUigens 


ecnsiderator  per  hee  pote- 
nt ex  se  ipso  reliqua  pro- 
tpicere,    vaZe  dilectisime. 


qnesta  citUk  nella  prouinda 
di  Mango,  vicina  alia  pro- 
vincia  del  Cataio,  uiella 
quale  sta  la  maggior  parte 
del  tempo  il  re.  E  dall' 
isola  di  Antilia,  che  voi 
chiamate  di  Sette  CUth, 
della  quale  avete  notizia, 
fino  alia  nobilissima  isola 
di  Cipango  sono  dieci  spazj, 
che  f anno  due  mila  e  ein- 
quecento  miglia^  eioh  du- 
gento  e  venlicinque  leghe ; 
la  quale  Isola  ^  f  ertilissim« 
di  oro,  di  perle,  e  di  pietre 
preziose.  £  sappiate,  che 
con  piastre  d'  oro  fino  co- 
prono  i  tempj  e  le  case 
regali.  Di  modo  cheaper 
non  esser  conosdyto  il  carnr 
minOf  tutte  queste  ease  a 
ritrovano  nascoste  e  eo- 
perte;  e  ad  essa  si  pu^ 
andar  sicuramente,  MoUs 
altre  eose  si  potrebbono 
dire;  moy  come  io  vi  ho 
gib,  detto  a  bocea,  e  voi 
siete  prudente  e  di  bwm 
giudioio,  mi  rendo  certo 
che  non  vi  resta  cosa  al^ 
cuna  da  intendere :  e  per^ 
non  sarb  piU  lungo. 


^  Read  qpertt  III; 


The  Latin  text  of  this  letter  is  preserved  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Colambns  npon  the  fly-leaf  of  one  of  his 
books  in  the  Colombina  at  Seville.  See  above,  vol.  i.  p. 
356,  note  3.  I  here  subjoin  a  specimen  of  the  hand- 
writing of  Colambas,  from  a  MS.  in  the  Colombina, 
reprodaced  in  Harrisse's  Notes  an  Columbus, 


cA  me-ks  Wfie-'  ^ ■ '        — « 


APPENDIX  B. 

THE  BULL  Inter  Cetera. 

EXEMPLAR    BVLLAE    SEV 

DONATIONIS,  AVTORITATE 

CVIVS,  EPISCOPVS   ROMANVS 

Alexander  eius  nominis  fextus,  con- 

cefsit  et  donauit  Caflellae  regibus 

et  fuis  fuccefforibus,  regiones 

et  Infulas  noui  orbis  in 

Oceano  occidentali  His- 

panorum  nauigationi- 

bus  repertas.*. 

LEXANDER  EPISCOPVS,  feruus  feruo- 
rum  Dei,  Charifsimo  in  Chriflo  filio  Fer- 
dinando  Regi,  et  Charifsimae  in  Chriflo 
filiae  Elizabeth  Reginae  Caftellae,  Legionis, 

Aragonum,  Sicilian,  et  Granatae,  illuflribus,  falutem  et 

Apodolicam  benedictionem. 

Inter  caetera  Diuinae  maieflati  beneplacita  opera 
et  cordis  noftri  defiderabilia,  illud  profecto  potifimum 
exiflit  vt  fides  catholica  et  Chriftiana  religio  noftris 
pnefertim  temporibus  exaltetur  ac  vbilibet  amplietur 


.^>^ 


APPENDIX  R 


THE  BULL  Inter  Cetera. 

^  THE    COPPIE    OF    THE    BULL 

OR    DONATION,   BY  TH[E]AU. 

TORITIE  WHEROF,   POPE 

Alexander   the  fyxte   of   that    name, 

%         gaue  and  graunted  to  the  kynges  of 

Caftyle  and  theyr  fucceflburs  the 

Regions  and  Ilandes  founde  in 

the  Wefte  Ocean  fea  by 

the  nauigations  of  the 

Spanyardes. 

• 

Lexander  byfhoppe,  the  feruaunte  of  the  fer- 
u antes  of  God :  To  owre  mofle  deare  be- 
loued  fonne  in  Chrift  Kynge  Ferdinande, 
And  to  owre  deare  beloued  doughter  in 
Chryfte  Elyzabeth  Queene  of  Caftyle,  Legion,  Aragon, 
Sicilie,  and  Granata,  moft  noble  Princes,  Gretynge 
and  Apoftolical  benediction. 

Amonge  other  woorkes  acceptable  to  the  diuine 
maieftie  and  accordynge  to  owre  hartes  defyre,  this 
certeinely  is  the  chief e,  that  the  Catholyke  fayth  and 
Chriftian  religion,  fpecially  in  this  owre  tyme  may  in 
all  places  bee  exalted,  amplified,  and  enlarged,  wherby 


582  APPENDIX  B. 

ac  dilatetur,  animarumque  falus  procuretur,  ac  barbarks 
nationes  deprimantur  et  ad  fidem  ipfam  reducantur. 
Vnde  cum  ad  banc  facram  Petri  fedem  Diuina  fauente 
dementia  (meritis  licet  imparibus)  euocati  fuerimus, 
cognofcentes  vos  tanquam  veros  catbolicos  reges  et 
principes  :  quales  Temper  fuiife  nouimus,  et  a  vobis 
praeclare  geda,  toti  pene  orbi  notifsima  demonftrant, 
nedum  id  exoptare,  fed  omni  conatu,  (hidio  et  dili« 
gentia,  null  is  laboribus,  nullis  impenfisy  nullifque  pa^ 
cendo  periculis,  etiam  proprium  ianguinem  effundendo 
efficere,  ac  omnem  animum  veilnmi,  omnefque  conatus 
ad  hoc  iam  dudum  dedicafse,  quemadmodum  recupe- 
ratio  regni  Granatae  a  tyrannide  Saracenonim  hodier- 
nis  temporibus  per  vos,  cum  tanta  Diuini  nominis 
gloria  fa<5la  tedatur.  Digne  ducimur  non  immerito, 
et  debemus  ilia  vobis  etiam  fponte,  ac  fauorabiliter 
concedere,  per  quae  huiufmodi  fan<5him  ac  laudabile 
ab  immortali  deo  acceptum  propofitum,  in  dies  fenien- 
tiori  animo  ad  ipfius  dei  honorem  et  Imperij  Chrif- 
tiani  propagationem,  profequi  valeatis.  Sane  accepi- 
mus  quod  vos  qui  dudum  animum  propofueratis  aliquas 
infulas  et  terras  firmas  remotas  et  incognitas,  ac  per 
alios  hadlenus  non  repertas,  quaerere  et  inuenire,  vt 
illarum  incolas  et  habitatores  ad  colendum  Redenip- 
torem  nollrum  et  fidem  catholicam  profitendum  re- 
duceretis,  ha6lenus  in  expugnatione  et  recuperatione 
ipfms  regni  Granatae  plurimum  occupati,  huiufmodi 
fandtum  et  laudabile  propofitum  veftrum  ad  optatum 
finem  perducere  nequiuifUs :  Sed  tamen  iicut  Domino 
placuit,  regno  predi6io  recuperato,  volentes  defiderium 
vcdrum  adimplere.  dile^hun  filium  Chriftophorum  O* 


BULL  OF  ALEXANDER  VL  683 

the  health  of  foules  may  be  procured,  and  the  Barbar- 
ous  nations  fubdued  and  brought  to  the  fayth.  And 
therefore  wheras  by  the  fauoure  of  gods  clemencie 
(although  not  with  equall  defertes)  we  are  cauled  to 
this  holy  feate  of  Peter,  and  vnderftandynge  you  to  bee 
trewe  Catholyke  Princes  as  we  haue  euer  knowen  you, 
and  as  youre  noble  and  woorthy  factes  haue  declared 
in  maner  to  the  hole  worlde  in  that  with  all  your 
ftudie,  diligence,  and  induflrye,  you  haue  fpared  no 
trauayles,  charges,  or  perels,  aduenturynge  euen  the 
fhedynge  of  your  owne  bludde,  with  apply inge  yowre 
hole  myndes  and  endeuours  here  vnto,  as  your  noble 
expeditions  achyued  in  recoueryng  the  kyngdome  of 
Granata  from  the  tyrannic  of  the  Sarracens  in  thefe 
our  dayes,  doo  playnely  declare  your  factes  with  fo 
great  glorye  of  the  diuine  name.  For  the  whiche  as 
we  thinke  you  woorthy,  fo  owght  we  of  owre  owne  free 
wyl  fauorably  to  graunt  all  thynges  whereby  you  maye 
dayely  with  more  feruent  myndes  to  the  honoure  of  god 
and  enlargynge  the  Chriftian  empire,  profecute  your 
deuoute  and  laudable  purpofe  mod  acceptable  to  the 
immortall  God.  We  are  credably  informed  that  wheras 
of  late  you  were  determyned  to  feeke  and  fynde  certeyne 
Ilandes  and  firme  landes  farre  remote  and  vnknowen 
(and  not  heretofore  found  by  any  other)  to  th[e]in- 
tent  to  bringe  th[e]inhabitauntes  of  the  fame  to  hon- 
oure owre  redemer  and  to  profefTe  the  catholyke  fayth, 
you  haue  hetherto  byn  much  occupied  in  th[e]expug- 
nation  and  recouerie  of  the  kyngedome  of  Granata, 
by  reafon  whereof  yowe  coulde  not  brynge  yowre  fayde 
laudable  purpofe  to  th[e]ende  defyred.  Neuertheleffe 
as  it  hath  pleafed  almyghty  god,  the  forefayde  kynge- 
dome beinge  recouered,  wylling  t[o]accomplyfhe  your 
fayde  defyre,  you  haue,  not  without  great  laboure, 
perelles,  and  charges,  appoynted   owre   welbeloued 


684  APPENDIX  B. 

lonum  virum  vtique  dignum  et  plurimum  commendatum 
ac  tan  to  negotio  apt  urn,  cum  nauigijs  et  hominibus  ad 
fimilia  in(lru6lis,  non  fine  maximis  laboribus,  ac  peri- 
culis,  et  expenfis  deflinaflis  vt  terras  firmas  et  Infulas 
remotas  et  incognitas,  huiufmodi  per  mare  vbi  hadtenus 
nauigatum  non  f uerat,  diligenter  inquireret.  Qui  tandem 
(Diuino  auxilio  fa(5la  extrema  diligentia  in  mari  Oceano 
nauigantes)  certas  infulas  remotifsimas  et  etiam  terras 
firmas,  quae  per  alios  ha6lenus  repertae  non  fuerant, 
inuenerunt.      In  quibus  plurimae  gentes  pacifice  vi- 
uentes,  et  (vt  afleritur)  nudi  incedentes,  nee  camibus 
vefcentes,  inhabitant :  Et  vt  praefati  nuncij  veftri  pof- 
sunt  opinari,  gentes  ipfbe  in  Infulis  et  terris  praedi6tis 
habitantes  credunt  vnum  deum  creatorem  in  Coelis 
efse,  ac  ad  fidem  catholicam  amplexandum  et  bonis 
moribus   imbuendum    fatis   apti   videntur :    Spefque 
habetur,  quod  fi  erudirentur,  nomen  Saluatoris  Domini 
noftri  lefu  Chrifti  in  terris  et  infulis  praedi(5ls  facile 
induceretur.      Ac  praefatus  Chriftophorus   in  vna  ex 
principalibus  Infulis  praedi(5lis,  iam  vnam  turrim  fatis 
munitam,  in  qua  certos  Chriftianos  qui  fecum  inerant, 
in  cuflodiam  et  vt  alias  Infulas  ac  terras  firmas  remotas 
et  incognitas  inquirerent  pofuit,  confirm  et  aedificari 
fecit.     In  quibus  quidem  Infulis  et  terris  iam  repertis, 
aurum,  aromata,  et  aliae   qu'amplurimae   res  prxciois 
diuerfi  generis  etdiuerfae  qualitatis  reperiuntur.  Vnde 
onmibus  diligenter,  et  pnefertim  fidei  catholicae  exal- 
tatione  et  dilatatione  (prout  decet  Catbolicos  Reges  et 
Principes)  confideratis,  more  progenitorum  veflronim 
clarre  memoriae  Regum,  terras  firmas  et  infulas  prae- 
dictas,  illarumque  incolas  et  habitatores,  vobis  diuina 


BULL  OF  ALEXANDER  VL  685 

fonne  Chriftopher  Colonus  (a  man  certes  wel  com- 
mended as  mode  worthy  and  apte  for  fo  great  a  mat- 
ter) well  fumyfhed  with  men  and  Ihippes  and  other 
neceflaries,  to  feeke  (by  the  fea  where  hetherto  no 
manne  hath  fayled)  fuche  firme  landes  and  Handed 
farre  remote  and  hitherto  vnknowen.  Who  (by  gods 
helpe)  makynge  diligente  fearche  in  the  Ocean  fea, 
haue  founde  certeyne  remote  I  landes  and  firme  landes 
whiche  were  not  heretofore  founde  by  any  other.  In 
the  which  (as  is  fayde)  many  nations  inhabite  lyu- 
inge  peaceably  and  goinge  naked,  not  accuftomed  to 
eate  flefhe.  And  as  farre  as  yowre  meflengers  can  con- 
iecture,  the  nations  inhabitynge  the  forefayde  landes 
and  I  landes,  beleue  that  there  is  one  god  creatoure  in 
heauen  :  and  feeme  apte  to  be  brought  to  th[e]imbraf- 
inge  of  the  catholyke  faythe  and  to  be  imbued  with 
good  maners :  by  reafon  whereof,  we  may  hope  that  if 
they  well  be  inftructed,  they  may  eafely  bee  induced 
to  receaue  the  name  of  owre  fauiour  lefu  Chrift.  We 
are  further  aduertifed  that  the  forenamed  Chriftopher 
bathe  nowe  builded  and  erected  a  fortrefle  with  good 
munition  in  one  of  the  forefayde  principall  Ilandes  in 
the  which  he  hath  placed  a  garrifon  of  certeine  of  the 
Chriftian  men  that  wente  thyther  with  him  :  afwell  to 
th[e]intent  to  defende  the  fame,  as  alfo  to  fearche 
other  Ilandes  and  firme  landes  farre  remote  and  yet 
vnknowen.  We  alfo  vnderftande,  that  in  thefe  landes 
and  Ilandes  lately  founde,  is  great  plentie  of  golde  and 
fpices,  with  dyuers  and  many  other  precious  thynges 
of  fundry  kyndes  and  qualities.  Therfore  al  thinges 
diligently  confidered  (efpecially  th[e]amplifyinge  and 
cnlargyng  of  the  catholike  fayth,  as  it  behoueth  cath- 
olike  Princes  folowyng  th[e]exemples  of  yowre 
noble  progenitours  of  famous  memorie)  wheras  yowe 
are  determyned  by  the  fauour  of  almightie  god  to  fub- 


686  APPENDIX  B. 

fauente  dementia  fubiicere  et  ad  fidem  Catholicam 
reducere  propofuiftis. 

Nos  itaque  huiufmodi  veftrum  fandhim  et  laudabile 

propofitum  plurimum  in  Domino  commendantes,  ac 

cupientes  vt  illud  ad   debitum  finem   perducatur,  et 

ipfum  nomen  Saluatoris  nolhi  in  partibus  illis  induca- 
tur,  hortamur  vos  quamplurimum  in  Domino,  et  per 
facri  lauacri  fufceptionem,  qua  mandatis  Apoftolids 
obligati  eftis,  et  per  vifcera  mifericordiae  Domini  noftri 
lefu  Chrifti  attente  requirimus,  vt  cum  expeditionem 
huiufmodi  omnino  profequi  et  aiTumere  prona  mente 
orthodoxse  fidei  zelo  intendatis,  populos  in  huiufmodi 
Infulis  et  terris  degentes,  ad  Chriftianam  religionem 
fufcipiendam  inducere  velitis  et  debeatis,  nee  pericula 
nee  labores  vllo  vnquam  tempore  vos  deterreant,  firma 
fpe  fidueiaque  eoneeptis  quod  Deus  omnipotens  cona- 
tus  veftros  foelieiter  profequetur.  Et  vt  tanti  negotij 
prouintiam  Apodolieae  gratis  largitate  donati,  liberius 
et  audaeius  aflumatis,  motu  proprio  non  ad  veftram  vel 
alterius  pro  vobis  fuper  hoe  nobis  oblatae  petitionis 
inflantiam,  fed  de  nodra  mera  liberalitate,  et  ex  certa 
fcientia,  ae  de  Apoflolieae  potedatis  plenitudine,  omnes 
Infulas  et  terras  firmas  inuentas  et  inueniendas,  de- 
te(5las  et  detegendas  verfus  Oecidentem  et  Meridiem, 
fabricando  et  eonftruendo  vnam  lineam  a  polo  AriSlico, 
fcilieet  Septemtrione,  ad  polum  Antar6licum,  feilicet 
Meridiem  fiue  terrae  firmae  et  infulae  inuentae  et  in- 
ueniendae  fmt  verfus  Indiam  aut  verfus  aliam  quam- 
cunque  partem  quae  linea  didet  a  qualibet  Infularum 
quae  vulgariter  nuncupantur  de  los  Azores  et  Cabo 
Verde  eentum  leueis  verfus  Oecidentem  et  Meridiem. 


.*  1 


BULL  OF  ALEXANDEB  VL  ^  687 

due  and  brynge  to  the  catholyke  fayth  th[e]inhabi- 
tauntes  of  the  forefayde  landes  and  Ilandes. 

Wee  greatly  commendynge  this  yowre  godly  and 
laudable  purpofe  in  owr  lorde,  and  defirous  to  haue 
the  fame  brought  to  a  dewe  ende,  and  the  name  of 
owre  fauioure  to  be  knowen  in  thofe  partes,  doo 
exhorte  yowe  in  owre  Lorde  and  by  the  receauynge 
of  yowre  holy  baptifme  wherby  yowe  are  bounde  to 
Apodolicall  obedience,  and  erneftely  require  yowe  by 
the  bowels  of  mercy  of  owre  Lorde  lefu  Chrift,  that 
when  yowe  intende  for  the  zeale  of  the  Catholyke 
fay  the  to  profacute  the  fayde  expedition  to  reduce  the 
people  of  the  forelayde  landes  and  Ilandes  to  the 
Chriftian  religion,  yowe  fhall  fpare  no  labours  at  any 
tyme,  or  bee  deterred  with  any  perels,  conceauynge 
firme  hope  and  confidence  that  the  omnipotent  godde 
wyll  gyue  good  fuccefle  to  yowre  godly  attemptes. 
And  that  beinge  autoryfed  by  the  priuilege  of  the 
Apoftolycall  grace,  yowe  may  the  more  freely  and 
bouldly  take  vpon  yowe  th[e]enterpryfe  of  fo  greate  a 
matter,  we  of  owre  owne  motion,  and  not  eyther  at 
yowre  requeft  or  at  the  inftant  peticion  of  any  other 
perfon,  but  of  owre  owne  mere  liberalitie  and  certeyne 
fcience,  and  by  the  fulnefle  of  Apoftolycall  power,  doo 
gyue,  graunt,  and  afligne  to  yowe,  yowre  heyres  and 
fuccefTours,  al  the  firme  landes  and  Ilandes  found  or 
to  be  found,  difcouered  or  to  be  difcouered  toward  the 
Wefl  and  South,  drawyng  a  line  from  the  pole  Artike 
to  the  pole  Antartike  (that  is)  from  the  north  to  the 
Southe  :  Conteynynge  in  this  donation,  what  fo  euer 
firme  landes  or  Ilandes  are  founde  or  to  bee  founde 
towarde  India^  or  towarde  any  other  parte  what  fo 
euer  it  bee,  beinge  diftant  from,  or  without  the  fore- 
fayd  lyne  drawen  a  hundreth  leaques  towarde  the 
Wefle  and  South  from  any  of  the  Ilandes  which  are 
commonly  cauled  De  los  Azores  and  Cabo  Verde. 


688  AFPENLIZ  B. 

Itaque  omnes  Infulae  et  terrae  firms  repertae  ct  re^ 
periendae,  detedlae  et  detegendx  a  praefata  linea  veriis 
Occidentem  et  Meridiem,  quae  per  alium  R^em  aut 
Principem  Chridianum  non  fuerint  adtualiter  pofTeils 
vfque  ad  diem  natiuitatb  Domini  noilri  lefu  Chrifli 
proxime  praeteritum,  a  quo  incipit  annus  praefens 
Millef&mus  Quadringenteffimus  Nonageilimus  tercius, 
quando  fuerunt  per  nuncios  et  capitaneos  veftros  in- 
uentae  aliquae  praedi<5tarum  Infularum,  auctoritate  omni- 
potentis  Dei  nobis  in  beato  Petro  concefsa,  ac  vicariatus 
lefu  Chrifti  qua  fungimur  in  terris,  cum  omnibus  illanim 
dominijs,  ciuitatibus,  cadris,  locis,  et  villis,  iuribufque 
ct  iurifdi(5lionibus  ac  pertinentijs  vniuerfis,  vobis  here- 
dibufque  et  fuccefloribus  veftris  (Caflellae  et  Legionis 
regibus)  in  perpetuum  tenore  praefentium  donamus 
concedimus,  et  ailignamus:  Vofque  et  haeredes  ac 
fucceiTores  praefatos  illarum  Dominos,  cum  plena,  libera, 
et  omnimoda  potedate,  autoritate,  et  iurifdidtione, 
facimus,  condituimus,  et  deputamus.  Decementes  ni- 
hilo  minus  per  huiufmodi  donationem,  concefsionem,  et 
aflignationem  nodranj,  nullo  Chridiano  Principi  qui 
adlualiter  praefatas  Infulas  et  terras  firmas  poflederit 
vfque  ad  praedi6lum  diem  natiuitati^  Domini  nodri 
lefu  Chridi  ius  quaesitum,  fublatum  intelligi  pofse  aut 
auferri  debere. 

Et  infuper  mandamus  vobis  in  virtutae  fan6lae  obedi- 
ential (vt  ficut  pollicemini  et  non  dubitamus  pro  vedra 
maxima  deuotione  et  regia  magnanimitate  vos  efse  fa^ 
ros)  ad  terras  drmas  et  Infulas  praedi<5tas,  viros  probos 
et  Deum  timentes,  do^os,  peritos,  et  expertos,  ad  io« 


BULL  OF  ALEXANDER  VI  689 

All  the  Ilandes  therfore  and  ffrme  landes,  founde 
and  to  be  founde,  difcouered  and  to  be  difcQuered 
from  the  fayde  lyne  towarde  the  Weft  and  South,  fuch 
as  haue  not  actually  bin  heretofore  pofTeffed  by  any 
other  Chriftian  kynge  or  prynce  vntyll  the  daye  of  the 
natiui^e  of  owre  Lorde  lefu  Chryfte  lafte  pafte,  from 
the  which  begynneth  this  prefent  yeare  beinge  the 
yeare  of  owre  Lorde.  M.  CCCC.  Ixxxxiii.  when  fo  euer 
any  fuch  Ihalbe  founde  by  your  meffingers  and  capy- 
taines,  Wee  by  the  autoritie  of  almyghtie  God  graunted 
vnto  vs  in  faynt  Peter,  and  by  the  office  which  we  beare 
on  the  earth  in  the  fteede  of  lefu  Chrifte,  doo  for  euer 
by  the  tenoure  of  thefe  prefentes,  gyue,  graunte,  affigne, 
vnto  yowe,  yowre  he)n*es,  and  fucceffoures  (the  kynges 
of  Caftyle  and  Legion)  all  thofe  landes  and  Ilandes, 
with  theyr  dominions,  territories,  cities,  caftels,  towres, 
places,  and  vyllages,  with  all  the  ryght,  and  iurifdic- 
tions  therunto  perteynynge  :  conftitutynge,  affignynge, 
and  deputynge,  yowe,  yowre  he)n-es,  and  fucceffours 
the  lordes  thereof,  with  full  and  free  poure,  autoritie, 
and  iurifdiction.  Decreeinge  neuertheleffe  by  this 
owre  donation,  graunt,  and  affignation,  that  from  no 
Chriftian  Prince  whiche  actually  hath  poffefTed  the 
forefayde  Ilandes  and  firme  landes  vnto  the  day  of 
the  natiuitie  of  owre  lorde  beforefayde  theyr  ryght 
obteyned  to  bee  vnderftoode  hereby  to  be  taken  away, 
or  that  it  owghl.to  be  taken  away. 


Furthermore  wee  commaunde  yowe  in  the  vertue 
of  holy  obedience  (as  yowe  haue  promyfed,  and  as  wee 
doubte  not  you  wyll  doo  vppon  mere  deuotion  and 
princely  magnanimitie)  to  fende  to  the  fayde  firme 
landes  and  Ilandes,  honefte,  vertuous,  and  lerned  men, 
iiiche  as  feare  God,  and  are  able  to  inftructe  th[e]in- 


590  APPENDIX  B. 

flruendumincolas  et  habitatores  prsfatos  in  fideCatho* 
lica  et  bonis  moribus  imbuendum,  deflinare  debeatis, 
omnem  debitam  diligentiam  in  prsemifsis  adhibentes. 
Ac  quibufcumque  perfonis,  cuiufcunque  dignitatis, 
etiam  imperialis  et  regalis  flatus,  gradus,  ordinis  vei 
conditionis,  fub  excommunicationis  latae  fententias 
pcena  quam  eo  ipfo  fi  contra  fecerint  incurrant,  dii^ 
tridlius  inhibemus  ne  ad  Infulas  et  terras  firmas  in- 
uentas  et  inueniendas,  dete6las  et  detegendas  verfus 
Occidentem  et  Meridiem,  fabricando  et  conflniendo 
lineam  a  polo  Ar6lico  ad  polum  Antardlicum,  fiue 
terrae  firmae  et  Infulae  inuentae  et  inueniendae  fint  ver- 
fus Indiam  aut  verfus  aliam  quamcunque  partem  qu£ 
linea  didet  a  qualibet  Infularum  quas  vulgariter  nun- 
cupantur  de  los  Azores  et  Cabo  Verde  centum  leucis 
verfus  Occidentem  et  Meridiem  vt  praefertur,  pro  mer- 
cibus  habendis  vel  quauis  alia  caufa  accedere  praefu- 
mat  abfque  veftra  ac  haeredum  et  fuccefsorum  veftro- 
rum  praedi(5lorum  licentia  fpeciali:  Non  obflantibus 
conditutionibus  et  ordi nation ibus  Apoftolicis,  caete- 
rifque  contrariis  quibufcunque,  in  illo  a  quo  imperia  et 
dominationes  et  bona  cun6ta  procedunt :  Confidentes 
quod  dirigente  Domino  adhis  veflros,  fi  huiufinodi 
fan(5lum  ac  laudabile  propofitum  profequamini,  breui 
tempore  cum  foelicitate  et  gloria  totius  populi  Chrif- 
tiani,  veflri  labores  et  conatus  exitum  fcelicifsimum 
confequentur.  Verum  quia  difficile  foret  praefentes 
literas  ad  fingula  quaeque  loca  in  quibus  expediens 
fuerit  deferri,  volumus  ac  motu  et  fcientia  fimilibus 
decern imus,  quod  illanun  tranffumptis  manu  publici 
notarij  inderogati  fubfcriptis,  et  iigillo  alicuios  per- 


BULL  OF  ALEXANDER  VL  591 

habitauntes  in  the  Catholyke  fayth  and  good  maners, 
applyinge  all  theyr  poflible  diligence  in  the  premiffes. 
We  furthermore  ftreightly  inhibite  all  maner  of 
perfons,  of  what  (late,  degree,  order,  or  condition  fo 
euer  they  bee,  although  of  Imperiall  and  regall  digni- 
tie,  vnder  the  peyne  o£  the  fentence  of  excommunica- 
tion whiche  they  (hall  incurre  yf  they  doo  to  the 
contrary,  that  they  in  no  cafe  prefuine  without  fpeciall 
lycence  of  yowe,  yowre  heyres,  and  fucceffours,  to 
trauayle  for  marchaundies  or  for  any  other  caufe,  to 
the  fayde  landes  or  Ilandes,  founde  or  to  bee  found, 
difcouered,  or  to  bee  difcouered,  toward  the  weft  and 
touth,  drawing  a  line  from  the  pole  Artyke  to  the  pole 
Antartike,  whether  the  firme  lands  and  Ilandes  found 
and  to  be  found,  be  fituate  toward  India  or  towarde 
any  other  parte  beinge  diftant  from  the  lyne  drawen 
a  hundreth  leagues  towarde  the  weft  from  any  of  the 
Ilandes  commonly  cauled  De  los  Azores  and  Cabo 
Verde  \  Notwithftandynge  conftitutions,  decrees,  and 
Apoftolycall  ordinaunces  what  fo  euer  they  are  to  the 
contrary  :  In  him  from  whom  Empyres,  dominions,  and 
all  good  thynges  doo  procede :  Truftynge  that  almyghtie 
god  directynge  yowre  enterprifes,  yf  yowefollowe  yowre 
godly  and  laudable  attemptes,  yowre  laboures  and 
trauayles  herein,  (hall  in  Ihorte  tyme  obteyne  a  happy 
ende  with  felicitie  and  glorie  of  all  Chriftian  people. 
But  forafmuch  as  it  Ihulde  bee  a  thynge  of  great  diffi- 
cultie  for  thefe  letters  to  bee  caryed  to  all  fuche  places 
as  (huld  bee  expedient,  we  wyll,  and  of  lyke  motion  and 
knowleage  doo  decree  that  whyther  fo  euer  the  fame 
(halbe  fent,  or  wher  fo  euer  they  (halbe  receaued  with 
the  fubfcription  of  a  common  notarie  therunto  re- 
quyred,  with  the  feale  of  any  perfon  conftitute  in  ec- 
clefiafticall  dignitie,  or  fuche  as  are  autoryfed  by  the 
ecclefiafticall  courte,  the  fame  fayth  and  credite  to  bee 


592 


APPENDIX  B. 


fonae  in  ecclefiaftica  dignitate  conftitutas,  feu  curiae 
ecclefiaflicae  munitis,  ea  prorfus  fides  in  iudicio  et 
extra  ac  alias  vbilibet  adhibeatur,  quae  praefentibiis 
adhiberetur  (i  efsent  exhibitae  vel  oflenlae. 

Nulli  ergo  omnino  hominum  liceat  banc  paginam 
noflne  commendationis,  hortationis,  requilitionis,  dona- 
tionis,  conceisionis,  aisignationis,  conflitutionis,  depu- 
tationis,  decreti,  mandati,  inbibitionis,  et  voluntatis^ 
infringere  vel  ei  aufu  temerario  contraire.  Si  quis 
autem  hoc  attentare  praefumpferit,  indignationem  om- 
nipotentis  Dei,  ac  beatorum  Petri  et  Pauli  Apoftolo- 
rum  eius,  fe  nouerit  incuHixrum.'. 

Datum  Romas  apud  fandhim  Petrum  :  Anno  incar- 
nationis  Dominicae.  1493.  quarto  nonas  Maij :  Ponti- 
ficatus  noflri  anno  primo.*. 


BULL  OF  ALEXANDER  VL 


593 


gyuen  thereunto  in  iudgement  or  els  where,  as  fhulde 
bee  exhibyted  to  thefe  prefentes. 


It  (hall  therefore  bee  lawefull  for  no  man  to  infringe 
or  ralhely  to  contrarie  this  letter  of  owre  commenda- 
tion, exhortacion,  requefte,  donation,  graunt,  affigna- 
tion,  conftitution,  deputation,  decree,  commaundement, 
inhibition,  and  determination.  And  yf  any  (hall  pre- 
fume  to  attempte  the  fame,  he  owght  to  knowe  that  he 
(hall  thereby  incurre  the  indignation  of  almyghtie  God 
and  his  holye  Apoftles  Peter  and  Paule.  (.*.)  (:)  (•/) 

C  Gyuen  at  Rome  at  faynt  Peters  :  In  the  yeare  of 
th[e]incamation  of  owre  Lord  M.  CCCC  LXXXXIII. 
The  fourth  day  of  the  nones  of  Maye,  the  fyrfte  yeare 
of  owre  feate.    ()()() 


APPENDIX  C. 

LIST  OF  OFFICEBS  AND  SAILOBS  IN  THB    FDSST  YOYASR 

OF  COLUMBUS. 

1.  Thate  who  went  out  in  the  Santa  Maria^  and  re- 

turned  in  the  Nifla  :  — 

Christopher  Colambas,  captain-geDeral. 

Joan  de  La  Cosa^  of  Santofia,  master,  and  owner  of 

the  vessel. 
Sancho  Raiz,  pilot. 

Maestro  Alonso,  of  Mogaer,  physician. 
Maestro  Diego,  boatswain  (contramaestre). 
Rodrigo  Sanchez,  of  Segovia,  inspector  (yeedor). 
Terreros,  steward  (maestresala). 
Rodrigo  de  Jerez,  of  Ayamonte. 
Ruiz  Garcia,  of  Santofia. 
Rodrigo  de  Escobar. 
Francisco  de  Haelva,  of  Huelva. 
Rui  Fernandez,  of  Huelva. 
Pedro  de  Bilbao,  of  Larrabezua. 
Pedro  de  Villa,  of  Santofia. 
Diego  de  Salcedo,  servant  of  Colambas. 
Pedro  de  Acevedo,  cabin  boy. 
Lais  de  Torres,  converted  Jew,  interpreter. 

2.  ThoM  who  went  and  returned  in  the  Pinta:'^ 

Martin  Alonso  Pinzon,  of  Palos,  captain. 
Francisco  Martin  Pinzon,  of  Palos,  master. 
Cristobal  Garcia  Xalmiento,  pilot 


..j!kJi^.aumMi^^KmAi.'js-  -. 


THOSE  WBO  SAILED  WITH  COLUMBUS.    695 

Juan  de  Jerez,  of  Palos,  mariner. 

Bartolom^  Garcia,  of  Palos,  boatswain. 

Jaan  Perez  Vizcaino,  of  Palos,  caulker. 

Rodrigo  de  Triana,  of  Lepe. 

Joan  Rodrignez  Bermejo,  of  Molinos. 

Jaan  de  Sevilla. 

Grarcia  Hemindez,  of  Palos,  steward  (despenserd), 

Grarcia  Alonso,  of  Palos. 

Gomez  Rwcon,  of  P^        \  ^^^  ^j  ^  ^^^ 

Lnstobal  Qointero,  of  Palos,  > 

Jaan  Qointero,  of  Palos. 

Diego  Bermadez,  of  Palos. 

Joan  Bermadez,  of  Palos. 

Francisco  Grarcia  Gallego,  of  Mogoer. 

Francisco  Garcia  Yallejo,  of  Mogoer. 

Pedro  de  Arcos,  of  Palos. 

3.  TJiose  who  went  and  returned  in  the  Ntfla:'^^ 

Vicente  YaSez  I^nzon,  of  Palos,  captain. 

Joan  NiBo,  of  Moguer,  master. 

Pero  Alonso  Niilo,  of  Mogoer,  pilot. 

Bartolom^  Roldan,  of  Palos,  pilot. 

Francisco  NLSo,  of  Mogoer. 

Gatierre  Perez,  of  Palos. 

Joan  Ortiz,  of  Palos. 

Alonso  Gotierrez  Qoerido,  of  Palos. 

4.  Those  wha  were  Uft  in  Hitpaniala,  and  penshedj 

most  of  them  murdered  by  the  natives  :  — 

Pedro  Gtitierrez,  keeper  of  tbe  king's  drawing  room. 
Rodrigo  de  Eseobedo.  of  Segot'ia.  notary* 
Diego  de  Anna,  of  Cordora,  high  eoustaliJie  {algtMU' 
zil  mayor),  « 

Alonso  Velez  de  Meodoza,  of  Seville. 
Alvar  Perez  QMnio,  of 


696  APPENDIX  a 

Antonio  de  Jaen,  of  Jaen. 
The  bachelor  Bernardino  de  Tapia^  of  Ledesnuu 
Cristobal  del  Alamo,  of  Niebla. 
Castillo,  silversmith  and  assayer,  of  Seville. 
Diego  Garcia,  of  Jerez. 
.  Diego  de  Tordoya,  of  Cabeza  de  Baey,  in  Estrema' 

dura. 
Diego  de  Capilla,  of  Almaden. 
Diego  de  Torpa. 
Diego  de  Mables,  of  Mables. 
Diego  de  Mendoza,  of  Guadalajara. 
Diego  de  Montalban,  of  Jaen. 
Domingo  de  Bermeo. 
Francisco  Fernandez. 
Francisco  de  Godoy,  of  Seville. 
Francisco  de  Aranda,  of  Aranda. 
Francisco  de  Henao,  of  Avila. 
Francisco  Xim^nez,  of  Seville. 
Gabriel  Baraona,  of  Belmonte. 
Gonzalo  Fernandez  de  Segovia,  of  Leon. 
Gonzalo  Fernandez  de  Segovia,  of  Segovia. 
Guillermo  Ires,  [qy.  William  Irish,  or  William  Ha^ 

ris  ?],  of  Galney  [i.  e.  Galway],  Ireland 
Fernando  de  Porcuna. 
Jorge  Gonzalez,  of  Trigueros. 
Maestre  Juan,  surgeon. 
Juan  de  Urniga. 

Juan  Morcillo,  of  Yillanueva  de  la  Serena. 
Juan  de  Cueva,  of  Castuera. 
Juan  Patifio,  of  La  Serena. 
Juan  del  Barco,  of  Barco  de  Avila. 
Juan  de  Villar,  of  Villar. 
^    Juan  de  Mendoza. 

Martin  de  Logrosa,  of  Logrosa. 
Pedro  Corbacho,  of  Ciceres. 


THOSE  WHO  SAILJPD  WITH  COLUMBUS.     697 

Pedro  de  Talavera. 
Pedro  de  Foronda. 
Sebastian  de  Mayorga,  of  Majorca. 
Tristan  de  San  Jorge. 

Tallarte  de  Lages  [qy.  Arthur  Laws,  or  Larkins  ?], 
of  England. 

This  list  is  taken  from  Captain  Cesdreo  Femdndez 
Duro^s  learned  monograph,  Colon  y  Pinzon,  Infarme 
relativo  d  los  pormenores  de  descubrimiento  del  Nuevo 
Mundoj  Madrid,  1883. 

Jaan  de  La  Cosa  is  usnaUy  spoken  of  as  having  ac- 
companied Columbus  on  his  second  voyage  but  not  on 
his  first.  An  ordinance  of  the  sovereigns,  however, 
dated  February  28,  1494,  and  preserved  among  the 
Simancas  MSS.,  thus  addresses  La  Cosa :  —  '*  Fuistes 
por  maestre  de  una  nao  vuestra  i,  las  mares  del  oc^ano, 
donde  en  aquel  viaje  fueron  descubiertas  las  tierras  6 
islas  de  la  parte  de  las  Indias,  6  vos  perdistes  la  dicha 
nao,"  angliehy  '^  You  went  as  master  of  a  ship  of  your 
own  to  the  ocean  seas  where  in  that  voyage  were  dis- 
covered the  lands  and  islands  of  the  Indies,  and  you 
lost  the  said  ship."  Navarrete,  Biblioteca  marUima 
espafiolay  tom.  ii.  p.  209.  Mr.  Winsor  (Christopher 
Columbusy  p.  184)  seems  to  think  that  this  La  Cosa 
was  a  different  person  from  the  great  pilot  and  cosmo- 
grapher,  who  was  a  native  of  Santofla  and  resident  of 
Puerto  de  Santa  Maria;  but  Captain  Duro  (p.  292) 
makes  him  the  same  person.  Cf.  Harrisse,  Chrutophe 
Colomb,  L  406. 


APPENDIX  D. 

LIST  OF  SXJBViyORS  OF  THE  FIB8T   VOYAGE  ABOUND 

THE  WORLD. 

(After  the  ooireoted  lists  in  Qnillemaid^B  Magellan,) 

1.  The  eighteen  who  returned  to  Seville  in  the  FiC' 
toria. 

Juan  Sebastian  Elcano,  captain-generaL 

Miguel  de  Rodas,  boatswain  (contramaestre)  of  the 
Victoria. 

Francisco  Albo,  of  Axio,  boatswain  of  the  Trinidad. 

Juan  de  Acurio,  of  Bermeo,  boatswain  of  the  Con- 
cepcion. 

Martin  de  Judicibos,  of  G^noa,  superintendent  of  the 
Concepcion. 

Hernando  de  Bustamante,  of  Alcdntara«  barber  of  the 
Concepcion. 

Juan  de  Zuvileta,  of  Baracaldo,  page  of  the  Victoria. 

Miguel  Sanchez,  of  Bodas,  skilled  seaman  (marinero) 
of  the  Victoria. 

Nicholas  the  Greek,  of  Naples,  marinero  of  the  Vic- 
toria. 

Diego  Gallego,  of  Bayonne,  marinero  of  the  Victoria. 

Juan  Rodriguez,  of  Seville,  marinero  of  the  Trinidad. 

Antonio  Rodriguez,  of  Huelra,  marinero  of  the  Trini- 
dad. 

Francisco  Rodriguez,  of  Seville  (a  Portuguese),  utan- 
nero  of  the  Concepcion. 


BUBVIVOBS  OF  MAGELLAN'S  VOYAGE.    699 

Joan  de  Arratia,  of  Bilbao,  common  sailor  (grumete) 
of  the  Victoria. 

Yasco  Gomez  Gallego  (a  Portagaese),  grumete  of  the 
Trinidad. 

Juan  de  Santandres,  of  Caeto,  grumete  of  the  Trini- 
dad. 

Martin  de  Isaurraga,  of  Bermeo,  grumete  of  the  Con- 
cepcion. 

The  Chevalier  Antonio  Pigaf etta,  of  Yicenza^  passen- 
ger. 

2.  The  thirteen  who  were  arrested  at  the  Cape  Verde 
islands, 

Pedro  de  Indarchi,  of  Teneriffe,  master  of  the  Sant- 
iago. 

Richard,  from  Normandy,  carpenter  of  the  Santiago. 

Simon  de  Bargos  (a  Portuguese),  servant  of  Mendoza, 
the  traitor  captain  of  the  Victoria. 

Juan  Martin,  of  Aguilar  de  Campo,  servant  of  the 
same  Mendoza. 

Boldan  de  Argote,  of  Bruges,  bombardier  of  the 
Concepcion. 

Martin  Mendez,  of  Seville,  accountant  of  the  Vic- 
toria. 

Juan  Ortiz  de  Gopega,  of  Bilbao,  steward  of  the  San 
Antonio. 

Pedro  Gasco,  of  Bordeaux,  marinero  of  the  Santiago. 

Alfonso  Domingo,  marinero  of  the  Santiago. 

Ocacio  Alonso,  of  Bollullos,  marinero  of  the  Sant- 
iago. 

Gromez  Hernandez,  of  Huelva,  murinero  of  the  Con- 
cepcion. 

Felipe  de  Rodas,  of  Rodas,  marinero  of  the  Victoria. 

Pedro  de  Tolosa,  from  Guipuzcoa,  grumete  of  the 
Victoria. 


600 


APPENDIX  J>. 


3.  The  four  survivors  of  the  Trinidad^  who  returned  to 
Spain  long  after  their  comrades. 

Gonzalo  Gromez  de  Espinosa,  constable  (alguazU)  of 

the  fleet. 
Juan  Rodriguez,  of  Seville  (called  *^  the  deaf  "),  mari' 

nero  of  the  Concepcion. 
Ginez  de  Mafra,  of  Xeres,  murinero. 
Leon  Pancaldo,  of  Savona  near  Grenoa,  marinero. 


INDEX. 


Abbott,  C.  C,  disooren  mde  imple- 
ments in  Glacial  drift,  i.  8. 

▲boriffines,  in  America,  L  1 ;  general 
condition  of,  i.  2;  from  the  Old 
World,  i.  4 ;  evidence  of  their  anti- 
quity, i.  5 ;  in  Glacial  period,  L  7  ; 
evidences  in  Trenton  gravel,  i.  8 ; 
distribution  of,  i.  9;  in  Australia,  i. 
26 ;  in  Switzerland,  i.  30;  tribes  hi 
America,  i.  38-47 ;  had  no  compre- 
hension of  state-buildinfir,  i.  47 ; 
their  tools  and  life,  L  48;  their 
hooses,  i.  64-66 ;  never  emerged 
from  genttlism,  L  100 ;  as  seen  by 
the  Northmen,  L  185-192  ;  of  South 
America,  U.  294-300. 

Acaroapitzin,  office  of  tlacatecuhtli  in, 
i.  114. 

**  Acts  of  God,*'  evUs  that  are  charac- 
terized as,  i.  315. 

Adam  of  Bremen,  his  reference  to 
Vinland,  i.  208-210 ;  what  Columbus 
knew  of  his  allusion  to  Vinland,  L 
384,  386 ;  copies  of  his  work,  i.  386. 

Adelung,  on  the  number  of  American 
languaiges,  L  38. 

Adobe  houses  of  the  Zufiis,  i.  83.  See 
also  Pueblos. 

Aschylus,  and  the  Arimaspians,  i.  287. 

AMca,  river-drift  men  retreated  into, 
L  16 ;  tribes  in, !.  23 ;  said  to  have 
been  circumnavigated  by  the  Phcp- 
nicians,-L  298;  visited  by  Hanno, 
Sataspes,  and  Eudozus,  i.  300-302 ; 
nearly  circumnavigated  by  Dias,  L 
332. 

Agamemnon,  his  power,  i.  Ill,  113; 
age  of,  i.  124  ;  and  Leif  Ericsson,  i. 
m,  195;  and  the  Incas,  U.  337. 

Agauiz,  Alexander,  his  map  of  the 
Atlantic  sea-bottom  mentioned,  L 
427. 

Agasais,  Louis,  on  the  origin  of  man, 
L58. 

Agathokles,  and  Cortes  compared,  iL 
247. 

Agnese,  Baptista,  his  map  in  1536,  ii. 
496. 

Agricnltore.  known  only  In  Pern,  I. 
48;  its  effect  upon  (he  family,  i.  61. 


Agnado,  Joan,  tent  to  invefltlgate  Go- 
lumbus^s  colony  at  Hispaniola,  i. 
483 ;  returns  to  Spain,  L  484;  text 
of  his  commission,  ii.  84. 

Ahuizotl,  chief-of-men,  ii.  224. 

AUly,  Pierre  d*,  his  *' Imago  Mundi,'* 
i.372;  ii.  131. 

Alabama  river,  shell-mounds  on  iti 
banks,  L  5. 

Alaska,  discovery  of,  il.  551. 

Albuquerque,  Alfonso  de,  overthrows 
the  Arab  power  in  the  East  Indies, 
U.  182. 

Alcantara,  Martinez  de,  half-brother 
of  Pizarro,  ii.  395 ;  death  of,  ii.  417. 

Alexander  the  Great,  and  Greek 
knowledge  of  the  East,  i.  262. 

Alexander  YL,  pope,  his  bulls  relat> 
ing  to  Spanish  and  Portuguese  dis- 
coveries, i.  454-459. 

Alfonso  v.  of  Portugal,  asks  advice  of 
Toscanelli,  concerning  the  way  to 
the  Indies,  i.  355 ;  ms  invasion  of 
CastUe,  i.  367. 

Alfonso  XI.  of  Castile,  his  attempt  to 
increase  the  supply  of  horses  by 
prohibiting  riding  on  mules,  i.  345 ; 
and  the  war  with  Castile,  i.  381. 

Alfragan,  Arabian  astronomer,  his  in- 
fluence upon  Columbus,  L  377. 

Algonquins,  in  status  of  barbarism 
when  seen  by  white  men,  i.  29  ;  ter- 
ritory of,  i.  42-44 ;  their  tribes  over- 
thrown by  the  Iroquois,  i.  47 ; 
houses  of,  i.  78;  their  use  of  the 
balista  or  demon's  head  resembles 
a  war  custom  of  the  Skrsplings,  i. 
191,  192. 

Alliacus,  Petrus,  or  Pierre  d*AJIly,  his 
"Imago  Mundi,"  i.  3?2 ;  cribbed 
from  Roger  Bacon,  i.  378. 

All  Saints,  bay  of,  named  by  Yespu- 
cius,  ii.  102. 

Almagro,  Di^^o,  goes  with  Pizarro  to 
Peru,  ii.  391;  sent  back  for  supplies, 
ii.  392  ;  his  feud  with  Fernando  Pi- 
zarro, ii.  396 ;  wishes  to  share  more 
evenly  Atahualpa's  ransom,  iL  404 ; 
defeats  Quizquiz,  ii.  407  ;  his  colony 
of  "New  Toledo,**  iL  409;  starta 


602 


INDEX. 


for  Chill,  U.  409 ;  defeats  Manco,  U. 
411 ;  aeixea  Ctuco,  U.  411, 412 ;  his 
defeat  and  execution,  ii.  412,  413. 

**Almatrro  the  lad,"  made  gOTemor 
of  Peru,  11  417 ;  death,  IL  41& 

Almeida,  Francisco  de,  oyerthrows 
the  Anb  power  in  the  East  Indies, 
ii.  182. 

Alphabet,  marks  the  beffinning  of  dr- 
Uixation,  L  32;  of  the  Mayas,  L  132; 
the  Mexicans,  bat  not  the  PentTianSi 
were  on  the  way  to,  IL  363. 

AlTarado,  Pedro  de,  called  by  the 
Mexicans  Tonatiuh,  ii.  238 ;  in  Ori- 
Jalya's  expedition,  ii.  243 ;  censured, 
ii.  245 ;  left  by  Cortes  in  command 
at  Mexico,  ii.  282 ;  his  massacre  of 
the  people,  iL  284 ;  goes  to  Peru,  iL 
407. 

AlTares  de  Cabral,  Pedro,  and  Jean 
Cousin,  i.  160. 

Amaxon  rirer,  origin  of  the  name,  iL 
415. 

America,  Pre-Colmnbian,  L  1 ;  anti* 
quity  of  man  in,  L  4 ;  in  Oladal  pe- 
riod, i.  6 ;  duration  of  Indians  in,  L 
20  ;  absence  of  domesticable  ani- 
mals retarded  progress  in,  i.  27; 
status  of  barbansm  in,  i.  36 ;  tribal 
society  in,  L  38 ;  prixnitive  society 
in,  i.  57,  100 ;  its  forms  of  society  at 
the  Conquest  outgrown  by  Mediter- 
ranean people  before  the  city  of 
Rome  was  built,  i.  147 ;  pre-Colum- 
bian voyages  to,  i.  148  ;  discovered 
by  Leif .  i.  164 ;  the  disooverr  inev- 
itable, 1.  177,  178 ;  never  colonised 
b^  the  Northmen,  i.  216-220;  in 
2<eno*8  narrative  no  claim  to  the 
discovery  of,  i.  237  ;  pre-Columbian 
voyages  In  no  true  sense  a  discovery 
of,  i.  254 ;  a  great  step  toward  the 
discovery,  1.  279;  the  discovery  a 
gradual  process,  i.  447 ;  the  nsming 
of,  ii.  45 ;  first  discoverer  to  see  the 
continent,  ii.  87 ;  relation  of  Colum- 
bus and  Cabral  to  the  discovery,  U. 
98  :  on  the  globe  of  Fin»us,  ii.  123, 
125;  how  the  name  developed,  ii. 
129 ;  name  first  used,  ii.  135 ;  terri- 
tory covered  by  the  name,  U.  140 ; 
the  son  of   Columbus   tacitly  ap- 

S roved  of  the  name,  ii.  142-145  ; 
rst  map  giving  the  name,  iL  146 ; 
on  Sch5ner's  globes,  ii.  148 ;  a  south- 
em  world,  ii.  149 ;  covers  both  con- 
tinents, ii.  152;  otlier  nsmes  sug- 
gested for  the  continents,  iL  162; 
other  derivations,  ii.  162;  first 
crossed,  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  ii. 
544  ;  the  discovenr  gradual,  ii.  552 ; 
Spaniards  and  FrMichmen  in,  ii. 
6M. 

Aniihuac,  warrior  of,  i.  21 ;  never  an 
em|tire  of,  iL  216. 

Andagoya,  Pascual  de,  haara  of  Peru, 


Andenon,  qootetioB  from  his  " 

ica  not  Discovered  by  Colmnbai,'* 
L390. 

Andrade,  Femam  de,  reaches  CbJns, 
iL183. 

Animals,  domestie,  nwrf—iry  to  cole* 
nists,  L  218,  219 ;  where  tiiey  ue 
fooad  wild,  L  219 ;  domesticated  by 
the  Peroriana.  ii.  311 ;  inflnenee  of 
cattle,  IL  315,  317 ;  Uamas,  iL  318; 
hmted  in  Pern,  ii.  359. 

Antilles,  origin  of  the  name,  i.  376. 

Antipodal  world,  described  by  Mala, 
iL  127;  oOled  **Qaaita  Pars,"  fl. 
128. 

Apaches,  of  Arizona,  status  of,  L  39; 
roaming  savages,  L  93. 

Arabs,  their  oomm«roe,  L  2G9 ;  their 
learning,  L  271. 

Arago,  on  the  temperatore  of  Qresn- 
hmd,  L158. 

Araucanians,  Indians  in  ChOi.  statoi 
of ,  ii.  298 ;  unconquerable,  iL  414. 

ArcluBolo^,  American,  its  Importaaoe 
and  fasobmtlon,  L  147. 

Architecture,  aboriginal,  L  65;  ol 
California,  and  nHns  of  Uxmal,  L 
65;  of  the  Iroquois,  L  66,  77,  78; 
of  the  Msndans,  i.  79 ;  of  tlie  ZniUa, 
L  83-97 ;  at  Palenque  and  Uxmal,  L 
137 ;  of  the  Peruvians,  iL  304 ;  hi 
Egypt  and  Peru  in,  ii.  358. 

Arctic  voyages,  Ii.  545-552. 

Ari  Fr6dhi,  the  historian  of  Iceland, 
L  204 ;  refers  to  Yhdand  and  the 
SkneUngs,  i.  205. 

Arimaspiims,  hi.  tory  of  the  mythical 
people  known  as,  L  286,  287. 

Aristotle,  his  u-gument  that  the  earth 
is  a  sphere,  and  that  the  sea  to  the 
west  and  eart  is  one,  L  368. 

Arisona,  Indians  of ,  L  82 ;  poebloa  of, 
L85. 

Arnold,  Qovemor,  his  stone  mUl  at 
Newport,  L  215. 

Aryan  and  Bemitio  peoples,  <me  caoas 
of  their  rise,  L  63. 

Alia,  the  outlook  of  Europe  toward,  L 
261 ;  and  the  discovery  of  America, 
L  262 ;  routes  of  trade  with  Europe, 
L  262  ;  India.  L  266,  266;  de«nribed 
by  Cosmas,  L  268;  Nestmian  mis- 
sionaries in,  268 ;  searching  for  new 
routes  to,  i.  296 ;  origin  of  Uie  name, 
ii.  136. 

Asia  Minor,  oivilisaticni  in,  L  271,  272. 

Astrolabe,  Martin  Behaim*s  improved, 
L395. 

Atahualpa,  overthrows  the  Inoa  Hna^ 
car,  ii.  396;  Pixarro  and  Soto  visit, 
ii.  400 ;  capture  of,  iL  402 ;  coQee- 
tiou  of  his  ransom,  ii.  403 ;  has 
Huascar  put  to  death,  ii.  404;  ii 
himself  put  to  death,  iL  406 ;  hit 
overthrow  of  tlte  true  Inoa,  U.  ^H 

Athsbaskans,  of  Hudson  Bsy,  L  38l 

Atiantis,  the  island  of  ,  L  4261 


INDEX. 


608 


Austndia,  aborigines  in,  L  26 ;  prtml- 
tiTe  life  in,  i.  58. 

▲yexac,  M.  d',  and  the  "Yito  deU* 
Ammiraglio,"  L  341 ;  on  the  date  of 
l)irth  of  Columbus,  i.  343;  on  the 
date  of  Toscanelli's  flnt  letter  to 
Columbus,  i.  36ij,  367 ;  and  the  voy- 
age of  Bartholomew  Columbus  with 
Dias,  i.  402. 

Avila.    SeeDMitL. 

Azavacatl,  chief-of-men,  ii.  224. 

Ayala«  Pedro  de,  his  letter  relating  to 
voyages  of  exploration  from  Bristol, 

Ayllon,  Lucas  Vasques  d*,  his  colony 
on  James  river,  u.  490. 

Aicapotsalco,  destruction  of,  il.  224. 

Azores,  on  the  Medici  map  of  1351,  i. 
321. 

Aztec  confederacy,  not  an  **  empire,** 
i.  104;  compared  with  the  Iroquois 
confederacy,  i.  104, 105, 118 ;  a  sys- 
tem of  plunder  enforced  by  terror, 
L  106.  ^00  a^o  Mexican  Confederacy. 

Aztecs,  belonff  to  same  race  as  the  more 
barbarous  Algonquins,  and  Dakotaa, 
i.  21 ;  compared  with  the  Egyptians, 
L  34  ;  culture  of  the  Aztecs,  i.  83 ; 
and  the  Aztec  confederacy,  L  104  ; 
number  of,  i.  106;  their  clans,  i. 
106;  their  phratriee,  i.  108;  their 
tribal  council,  L 109 ;  the  **  snake-wo- 
man," 1.  110;  tlacatecuhtli  of,  i. 
Ill;  their  manner  of  collecting  trib- 
ute, i.  115 ;  the  priesthood  of,  i.  119 ; 
their  slaves,  i.  121 ;  family  and  male 
descent  among,  i.  122 ;  marriage,  i. 
123 ;  private  property  among,  i.  124 ; 
writing  of,  i.  127 ;  their  armies,  L 
128 ;  not  the  mound-builders,  i.  142 ; 
in  the  valley  of  Mexico,  ii.  221 ;  their 
first  four  **chiefs-of-men,"ii.  223; 
their  gods,  ii.  22^239 ;  their  fear  of 
horses,  ii.  248 ;  manner  of  fighting, 
ii.  253,  254 ;  door  fasteuhigs  of,  U. 
263 ;  their  totems,  ii.  266.  See  alto 
Nahnas;  Mexicans. 

Aztian,  old  home  of  the  Nahua  tribes, 
iL219. 

Azurara,  fine  edition  of  his  work,  i. 
316;  his  account  of  the  trade  in 
slaves,  1444,  U.  430,  431. 

Babbitt,  Miss  F.  E.,  referred  to,  1.  7 ; 
her  discoveries  in  Minnesota,  i.  9. 

Bacbofen,  Professor,  his  work  "  Das 
Mutterrecht,"  i.  54. 

Bacon,  Lord,  on  Bartholomew  Colum- 
bas*s  mission  to  Henry  Vn.,  i.  407. 

Bacon,  Boger,  on  the  distance  by  sea 
from  Spun  westward  to  Aria,  i.  279 ; 
Brmietto  Latini  visits,  and  describes 
\Ab  compass,  i.  314 ;  collects  passages 
from  ancient  writers  on  the  distance 
from  Spain  westward  to  Asia,  i.  371, 
872;  AlliaeBS  plagiarized  from,  i. 
878. 


Badajos,  congress  of,  to  settle  th« 
ownership  of  the  Moluccas,  iL  488. 

Baffin,  William,  his  arctic  explora- 
tions, ii.  548. 

Bal&n*s  Bay,  voyage  to,  in  1135,  L 
172. 

Bajazet,  his  massacre  of  French  prL»- 
oners  compared  with  Huayna's  sup- 
pression of  revolt  at  Quito,  ii.  325. 

B^boa,  Yasoo  NuBes  de,  sees  the  Pa> 
cific,  ii.  180 ;  his  death  referred  to, 
ii.  239;  sails  with  Enciso's  expedi- 
tion, ii.  370 ;  head  of  the  colony  in 
the  gulf  of  Urabd,  ii.  371 ;  his  quar- 
rel with  Enciso,  il.  373;  heara  of 
Peru,  iL  374;  sees  the  Padflc,  iL 
375;  hears  more  of  Peru,  ii.  376; 
Pedrarias  jealous  of,  ii.  378 ;  com^ 
plains  of  Pedrarias,  iL  378 ;  his  ex- 
pedition in  search  of  gold,  ii.  379; 
number  of  Indians  that  perished  in 
the  expedition,  iL  379 ;  delays  for 
iron  aad  pitch,  U.  380 ;  his  fatal  con- 
versation, ii.  381 ;  put  to  death  bv 
Pedrarias,  ii.  383 ;  his  character,  iL 
384. 

Balista,  of  the  Algonquins,  1. 192. 

Bancroift,  Hubert  Howe,  on  the  priest- 
commander  of  the  Aztecs,  L  115; 
on  Herrera  as  a  historian,  iL  62; 
suggests  that  the  Bermudas  may 
have  been  the  archipelago  of  San 
Bernardo,  ii.  89;  on  Vespucius*s 
letter  to  Lorenzo  de*  Medici,  iL  94 ; 
on  prehistoric  Mexico,  iL  216. 

Bandolier,  Adolf  on  the  population  of 
the  pueblos,  L  94,  95 ;  his  Mexican 
researches,  i.  103;  on  the  Aztec 
confederacy,  L  106  ;  on  Spanish  er- 
rors, i.  110 ;  on  the  tlaoitecuhtli,  or 
"  chief-of-men,'*  L 114 ;  and  Mexico, 
I.  130 ;  on  the  meaning  of  Chichi- 
mecs,  ii.  219 ;  on  Mexico  as  a  strong- 
hold, ii.  222;  on  Quetzalcoatl,  iL 
232. 

Barbarians,  described  by  early  writers, 
L  327-329 ;  their  idea  of  foreigners, 
L432. 

Barbarism,  distinguished  from  savage- 
ry, L  25 ;  marked  by  domestication 
of  animals,  L  27 ;  end  of  lower  period 
and  middle  status  of,  i.  29 ;  value  of 
tlie  term,  L  34 ;  best  exemplified  in 
America,  L  36  ;  tribes  in  the  period 
of,  i.  40-47 ;  human  sacrifice  char- 
acteristic of,  L  119;  importance  of 
the  middle  period  of,  i.  130 ;  Peruvi- 
ans in  middle  period  of,  ii.  314. 

BarlMut),  Marco,  on  Antonio  Zeno,  L 
234. 

Barbastro,  Luis  de,  converts  the  In- 
dians in  Tuzulutlan,  ii.  471. 

Barbosa,  Diego,  Magellan  marries  his 
daughter,  if.  191 ;  warns  Magellan  of 
treason  among  his  captains,  iL  192. 

Bardsen,  Ivar,  accuracy  of  his  descrip- 
tion of  Greenland,  L  159, 239;  on  th* 


604 


INDEX. 


climate  of  Oreenland,  L  176 ;  tnnt- 
lationa  of  his  book,  1.  238 ;  springt 
doM^ribed  bv,  L  243. 

Barents,  Willuun,  tnnalateB  Bardaen's 
work  on  Oreenland,  i.  239 ;  hia  aro- 
tlo  explorations,  iL  M6. 

Bastidaw,  Rodrigo  de,  liiB  vqjrage  in 
1600-1602,  U.  96. 

Bates,  H.  W..desorib6stlie  Orinoco  at 
its  mouth,  i.  492. 

Battas,  cannibaUsm  among,  iL  269. 

Baxter,  Bylvester,  L  86. 

Beaujeu,  his  expedition  to  the  Misds- 
sippi  fails,  iL  637. 

Bebalm,  Martin,  his  ImproYed  astro- 
labe, L  306 ;  his  globe,  1492,  and  his 
career,  L  422-424;  his  Atlantic 
ocean,  L  429;  his  m^  and  the 
**  Mundtts  NoTus  **  of  Yespudus,  iL 
117. 

Benin,  the  king  of,  sends  an  embasBj 
to  John  II.  of  Portugal  requesting 
missionaries,  L  330. 

Bering,  Vitus,  proves  North  America 
separated  from  Asia,  il.  &14 ;  Laurid* 
sen^s  life  of,  ii.  660;  his  explora- 
tions, U.  650-562. 

Bering  sea,  shallowness  of,  L  14. 

Bemudec,  Andres,  his  History  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  1.  338;  on 
the  date  of  birth  of  Columbus,  i. 
M3, 344;  description  of  Jamaica  and 
Cuba,  L  471,  472;  a  high  authority 
for  Columbu8*s  second  voyage,  i.  485. 

B^thencourt,  Jeaii  de,  founds  a  colony 
in  the  Canaries,  !.  321. 

"Biblioteca  Colombina**  at  Seville, 
library  of  Ferdinand  Columbus,  L 
336 ;  Seneca's  Tragedies  in,  i.  3G9 ; 
other  books  in,  L  372. 

Bienewitz,  Peter,  his  idea  of  Cuba  and 
Hispaniola,  ii.  151. 

Bison,  and  Thorflnn's  bull,  i.  187. 

Bjami  GrimoKsson,  the  story  of  his 
death,  i.  1G9. 

Bjami  Herjulfsson,  his  voyage  of  986, 
i.  162 ;  in  Norway,  L  1^. 

Bobadilla,  Fnmcisco  de,  Fonseca's 
creature,  i.  499;    orders  Columbus 

gut  in  chains,  i.  500;  and  sent  to 
pain,  i.  501 ;  and  Fonseca,  L  503. 
Boston,  its  latitude  possible  for  Vln- 

land,  L  182. 
Boucher  de  Perthes,  referred  to,  1.  8. 
Bnurgogne,  Jean  de,  and  MandeviUe's 

Travels,  i.  290. 
Bow  and  arrow,  invention  of,  marks 

an  advance  in  savagery,  L  20. 
Boyle,  Bernardo,  i^xwtoUc  vicar  for 

the  Indies,  L  462 ;  deserts  Colurabos 

and  tries  to  ruin  hi  m,  L  479,  480. 
Brandt,  Sebastian,  his  alluelon  to  the 

discovery  by  Columbus,  L  452. 
Brasneur,  AbM,  on  Mexico  and  Egypt, 

BratUhlld,  a  village  in  Greenland. 
•$ff  Grwnland. 


Bradl,  Cabral  taket  poiwriop  of,  for 
Portugal,  iL  97  ;  nativea  of,  iL  101, 
102 ;  on  old  maps  America  or  Mon- 
dus  Novus,  il.  146;  <nigin  of  tha 
name,  and  the  comment  of  Barros, 
iL  160 ;  Ho^uenots  in,  ii.  511. 

Breviesca,  Xmieno,  irritates  Cofaim* 
bus,  L  487. 

Brinton,  Dr.  Daniel  Q.,  his  work  on 
the  Lenape,  L  43  ;  and  the  chronicle 
of  Chicxulnb,  L  138 ;  his  **  Essays  of 
an  Americanist,"  iL  218;  on  Tol- 
tecs  and  Attecs,  iL  220 ;  on  Quetxal- 
coatl,  U.  232 ;  his  essay  on  NahusU 
music,  ii.  470. 

Bristol,  England,  merchants  of,  iL  3. 

Britons,  ancient,  in  middle  status  of 
barbarism,  i.  30. 

Bronze  age,  L  31. 

Browning,  Robert,  his  Caliban  oa  Be- 
tebos,  U.  199. 

Bulls,  of  Alexander  YL,  L  454. 

Bunbury,  Mr.,  on  the  Phcniician  voy- 
age around  Africa,  L  298 ;  on  Btrir 
bo's  prophecy,  L  370. 

Burial  customs,  of  the  Chibchas,  iL 
295;  in  Peru,  a. »«. 

Burton,  Sir  Richard,  on  Icelandic  Ids- 
tories,  1.  212. 

Butler,  Professor  J.  D.,  regarding  the 
agreement  to  swear  that  Cuba  was 
part  of  India,  ii.  7L 

Cabejudo,  Rodriguex,  his  testimony 
relating -to  Columbus,  i.  411. 

Cabesa  de  Yaca,  captive  among  the 
Indians,  i.  251  ;  ii.  501. 

Cabo  de  Ynglaterra,  ii.  14. 

Cabot,  John,  and  the  news  of  Colum- 
bus's first  voyage,  L  451 ;  story  of, 
ii.  2 ;  moves  to  Bristol,  iL  3 ;  saOs 
from  Bristol  in  1497,  ii.  5 ;  contem- 

r>raneous  account  of  his  voyage,  iL 
;  receives  a  pension  from  Henry 
YII.,  iL  6;  Pssqualigo  describes, 
ii.  6 ;  sails  in  search  of  Cipango  in 
1498,  ii.  6;  what  part  of  North 
America  did  he  visit,  ii.  9 ;  Soncino's 
description  of  his  course,  iL  12; 
probable  range  of  the  Cabot  voyages, 
il.  14  ;  and  Columbus,  iL  23 ;  was  be 
the  first  to  see  the  continent,  iL  87. 

Cabot,  Sebastian,  sails  in  search  of 
Cipango,  ii.  6 :  later  career  of,  ii.  7 ; 
what  part  of  North  America  aid  be 
visit,  ii.  9 ;  map  attributed  to,  ii.  10 ; 
did  not  sail  as  far  south  as  Florida, 
ii.  15 ;  second  voyage  a  failure,  iL  16. 

Cabral,  Pedro  Alvares  de,  croeaes  the 
Atlantic  accidentally  and  takes  pos- 
session of  Brasil  for  Portugal,  iL 
96,  97  ;  nature  and  consequences  of 
his  discovery,  IL  98, 99 ;  his  success- 
ful voyage  to  Hindustan,  iL  100. 

Cadamosto.  Lnigi,  voyage  to  the  Bio 
Grande,  L  326. 

Calaveras  skull,  antiquity  of,  L  11. 


INDEX. 


605 


California,  the  antiquity  of  man  in, 
L  11 ;  Indiana  of,  i.  39. 

Cam,  Diego,  reaches  the  Congo,  L 
326  ;  hia  voyage  in  1484,  i.  396. 

Cambodia,  ruina  at  Palenque  com- 
pared with  those  at,  i.  136. 

Camel,  the,  probably  originated  in 
America,  i.  19. 

Cantino.  Alberto,  his  beautiful  map  In 
1502,  ii.  20-21 ;  wliat  it  proves  con- 
cerning Florida,  ii.  74 ;  not  taken 
from  La  Cosa's  map,  ii.  76  ;  com- 
pared with  Waldseemliller's  map, 
il.  78. 

Canary  islands,  known  to  the  Cartha- 
ginians, and  a  favourite  theme  for 
poets,  il  303 ;  rediscovery  of,  i.  320 ; 
on  the  Medici  map  of  1351,  i.  321 ; 
the  colony  founded  by  Jean  de 
B^thencourt  in,  L  321 ;  Columbus 
dehiyed  at,  i.  421. 

Candia,  Pedro  de,  decides  to  follow 
Pizarro,  il.  393. 

Cannibalism,  L  49 ;  flourished  in  Mex- 
ico at  the  time  of  the  discovery,  1. 
119 ;  in  aboriginal  America,  i.  465; 
of  the  Mexicans,  ii.  268-269 ;  origin 
of  the  term,  ii.  297. 

Caonabo,  IndUan  chieftain,  plans  to 
overwhelm  the  Spaniards  under 
Columbus;  i.  482 ;  his  death,  i.  485. 

Capac,  pronunciation  of,  ii.  300. 

Cape  Alpha  and  Omega,  i.  468. 

Cape  Bojador,  Gil  ^mnes  passes,  i. 
322-323. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  passed  by  Dias, 
and  named  by  King  John  II.  of 
Portugal,  i.  332 ;  the  return  of  Dias 
from,  i.  402. 

Cape  Oracias  a  Dios,  i.  609. 

Cape  Horn,  named,  ii.  489. 

Cape  Mayzi,  i.  468,  470. 

Cape  Non,  i.  320-322. 

Cape  San  Roque,  named  by  Yespn- 
cius,  ii.  100. 

Cape  Verde  islands,  discovered  by 
Gomes,  i.  326. 

Caravels,  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
ships,  i.  312. 

Caribs,  cannibals,  ii.  296. 

Carpini  and  Rubruquis,  two  monks, 
visit  the  Great  Khan,  i.  278. 

Carr,  Lucien,  on  Indian  domestic  life, 
i;67. 

Cartagena,  Juan  de,  captain  of  the 
San  Antonio,  ii.  191  ;  put  in  irons, 
ii.  194;  in  open  mutiny  against 
Magellan,  ii.  196 ;  overpowered,  iL 
198. 

Cartier,  Jacques,  Iroquois  villaire 
found  bv,  i.  45 ;  voyage  of,  ii.  491. 

Carvajal,  Bernardino  de,  refers  in  1493 
to  Columbus's  discoveries,  i.  451. 

Cass,  Lewis,  his  scepticism  in  regard 
to  Spanish  narratives,  i.  101. 

Castro,  Yaca  de,  governor  of  Peru,  ii. 
417-41& 


Catalan  map  of  1376, 1.  287. 

Cathay,  the  early  name  of  China,  1.277. 

Catlin,  an  authority  on  the  Indiana, 

i.  40 ;  theory  about  Madoc  and  the 

Minnitarees,  i.  41;  Mandan  houses 

visited  by,  L  81. 

Cattigara,  position  of,  ii.  126,498,600. 

Cattle,  earliest  private  property,  iL 

317.    See  alto  Animals. 
Cave  men,  of  Europe,  i.  16 ;  Eskimos 
probably  a  remnant  of,  i.  17 ;  their 
attainments^  I.  34. 
Caxamarca,  Pisarro  at  the  town  of,  U. 

400. 
Centeno,  Diego  de,  defeated,  ii.  420. 
Cervantes,  applauded  the  expulsion  of 
the  Moriscoes,  iL  563. 

Ceylon,  curious  notions  about,  i.  308, 
309. 

Chaco  valley,  pueblos  of,  i.  91 ; 

Champlain,  Samuel  de,  founder  of 
Canada,  ii.  529 ;  his  policy  leads  to 
the  alliance  of  the  Five  Nations  with 
Dutch  and  English,  ii.  530. 

Champoton,  defeat  of  the  Spaniards 
at,  U.  242. 

Chanca,  Dr.,  his  relation  of  Colum- 
bus's second  voyage,  1.  464. 

Charles  YIL  of  France,  i.  113. 

Chamay,  M.  de,  on  Waldeck's  draw- 
ings at  Palenque,  i.  134;  on  the 
ruins  at  Palenque,  i.  136,  137 ;  his 
idea  of  the  Toltec  empire,  ii.  218; 
finds  door  fastenings  at  Uxmal,  iL. 
264. 

Cherokees,  offshoot  from  Iroquois 
stock,  i.  42 ;  the  same  as  the  early 
mound-builders,  i.  144, 145. 

Chersonese,  the  Ck>lden,  Columbua 
hopes  to  find,  L  475,  489. 

Chester,   earls   of,  their  increase  of  , 
sovereignty,  i.  76. 

Chibchas,  tribes  of  Central  America, 
ii.  294;  burial  customs  of,  iL  295; 
works  on,  ii.  296. 

Chichen-Itza,  contemporary  document 
on,  i.  138  ;  existed  at  the  time  of 
the  Conquest,  L  139. 

Chichimecs,  speculations  about  the 
people  caUed,  ii.  218 ;  R^mi  Simton 
on,  ii.  219. 

Chickaaaws,  their  mounds  in  Missis- 
sippi, L  145. 

Chicxulub,  the  chronicle  of,  L  138. 

Chiefs,  among  the  Indians,  i.  69. 

Chiefs-of-men.    See  Tlacatecuhtli. 

Chili,  conquered  by  the  Incas,  ii.  324 ; 
ViUdivia's  conquest  of,  ii.  413,  414. 

Cliillingham  Park,  wild  cattle  in,  L 
219. 

Chimus,  had  a  semi-civilization  dif- 
ferent from  tliat  of  the  Inc&s,  IL 
322. 

China,  first  knowledge  of,  L  264; 
called  SinsB  or  Thin,  i.  264 ;  its  po- 
sition described  by  Cosmas,  i.  268; 
visited  by  Nestorian  missionaries,  i. 


606 


INDEX. 


268 ;  beoomtfl  known  to  EoropeaaB 
M  Cathay,  i.  277 ;  flnt  knowledge  of 
an  ocean  beyond,  L  278 ;  Bacon  on 
the  dirtance  from  Spain  westward 
to,  L  279;  viaited  by  the  Polo 
iHTOtbera,  L  281,  282 ;  Odorio*8  Tiait 
to,  i.  290 ;  doaed  to  Europeana,  L 
291 ;  deeoribed  by  Marco  Polo,  1. 
858,  359;  aocordinff  to  Toacanelli, 
i.  376 :  belief  that  Cuba  waa  a  part 
of,  i.  444 ;  Peter  Martyr's  doubts 
about,  L  445 ;  Andrade  reaches,  iL 
183. 

Chinese,  their  diacoyery  of  Fuaang,  L 
148, 149 ;  classed  as  civilised,  L  32. 

Chirihuanas,  cannibale,  attempts  to 
■objugate,  ii.  3M;  their  communal 
houses,  ii.  350. 

CHiiriqui,  tombs  in  the  prorinoa  of,  iL 
294. 

Choctaws,  i.  42. 

Cholseul-Daillecoort,  bia  wmk  on  the 
(Tmsadea,  L  272. 

Cholula,  population  of,  i.  96 ;  plot  to 
entrap  Cortes  at,  iL  256. 

Christianity,  in  Norway  and  lodand, 
L1(^1G4;  in  Greenland,  L  221,222; 
in  Europe  in  the  year  1000,  L  259, 
200 ;  in  Asia,  L  269 ;  and  the  Cru- 
sades, L  270 ;  and  the  Turks,  L  271 ; 
its  influence  with  Henry  the  Naviga- 
tor, Columbus,  and  Cortes,  L  318; 
and  the  slav^-trade,  L  323, 324 ;  in 
the  time  of  MageUan,  illustrated  by 
his  character,  ii.  205;    and  Aztec 

rls,  iL  226 ,  and  vicarioas  sacrifice, 
2S3s  2»4 ;  in  Cuba,  iL  446 ;  Las 
Cases  and,  u.  464, 465;  hi  Spain,  iL 
662, 5C3;  uniformity  in  religknis 
beliefs  not  dewrable,  iL  664;  the  In- 
quisition, ii.  564. 

Chupas.  battle  at.  iL  418. 

CibM,  ex]4anation  of,  L  467. 

Cibola,  Seven  Cities  of,  ii.  504. 

Ciesa  de  Leon,  Pedro,  his  life  and 
works,  iL  304. 306;  part  of  hiswoik 
attributed  by  Preacott  to  Sarmlento, 
ii.  306  ;  on  Ppru  under  the  Incas, 
iL  &?? ;  on  the  deposition  of  Urro 
and  the  rower  of  the  coonciL  iL 
S36:  on  Vwrying  widows  aUve,  iL 
343 ;  on  the  improved  cooditaon  of 
Indians  in  Peru  after  Las  Casas*s 
work.  iL  476. 

ClhuacoatL  or  snske-wosnan.  i.  110. 

Cintra.  Piedro  de,  reaches  Sierra  Le- 
one, i.  326. 

Cipango  (Japan),  poaMoai  of.  acrord- 
iu  to  Toscanelh,  L  376;  Cotumbos 
KuU  for.  i.  421 :  fear  that  he  has 
missed  it,  L429;  gro|anf:  f or  Quin- 
aay  and.  L  453 :  Hufianiols  ca&ed  a 
part  of.  L  444 :  not  Hif|iaBic4a.  i. 
478:  Sebastian  Cabot  aaik  fa  aettTC^ 
of,  iL6. 

CtvOiaatioii,  deflafd,  L  d4;  why  re- 
tanled  In  Amcska,  LSI; 


marks  the  boghmlug  of,  L  82;  ia 
Mexico  and  Pern,  L  S3 ;  misuse  of 
the  term,  L  34;  Greek  and  Pen- 
▼ian  compared,  L  83;  the  chsan 
from  gentile  to  poUtieal  aociety,  l 
99;  in  Mexico,  L 101 ;  and  eannibd- 
ism,  L  119:  genua  of,  among  the 
Axtecs,  L  124,  130;  in  Amma  at 
the  Cooqoest,  L  147;  of  the  Old 
WorM  and  the  New,  L  148;  and  do* 
meatio  animalw,  L  218;  in  Earof« 
during  the  voyagea  of  the  North- 
men, L  257-259 ;  geographical  know- 
ledge before  1492,  u  2C3 ;  in  Con- 
stantinople of  the  twelfth  eenteiT,  L 
270, 271 ;  the  elTeet  of  the  Crusades 
on,  L  273, 274 ;  in  thefomteenth  cen- 
tury, L  276 ;  what  It  owea  to  Tsntcnie 
tribal  mobiUtv,  iL  361 ;  Ucfaeat  t]rps 
of  manhood,  fi.  466. 
Clan,  the  earliest  famOy-granp,  L  GO; 
atmcture  of ,  L  69 ;  the  origin  of  tlis 
township,  L  99 ;  among  the  Axtecs, 
L  106,  107 ;  ri^ts  and  dntlea  of,  L 
108;  and  Artec  marriagee,  L  123; 
metamorphosis  in  the  structure  of, 
iL  316 ;  system  broken  up  in  Peru, 
iL348. 
Clark,  William,  crosses  the  oontinBttt, 

iL544. 
CUvigero,  on  the  tlacatecnhtU,  L 114 ; 
referred  to  on  cop^4>r  hatcJiets,  L 
128. 
Claymont,  Delaware,  pahwlith  found 

at.  i.  9. 
Coelbo.  Gooealo,  his  voyage  in  1503, 

iL  167. 
Cogoleto,  not  the  birthplace  of  Cdnm- 

bas.L346. 
CoMen,  Cadwallader,  L  46L 
Coligny,  favoora  founding  Hngoeaot 

ccdoniea,  IL  611. 
Cohnnhia      riTO*,     diacoimad     and 

named,  fi.  543^ 
Colombo.  DooAeidco,  father  of  Cclum- 
bos,  h^  family  and  its  changes  of 
reeidnice,  L  347 ;  aale  of  hia  house 
in  G«noa,  L  851. 
Colombo,   Giovanni,   grandfather  of 

C<Jumbna,L  34& 
Columbus,  Baitholonew,  brother  of 
Christopher,  his  voysge  with  Diss. 
L  333 ;  in  lisbon,  L  350,  351 :  his 
peraooal  appearance,  L  363 ;  said  to 
have  sQggeated  the  route  to  the  In- 
die*. LS95:  returns  with  Djas  from 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  L  402;  goes 
to  Englsnd.  L  404 ;  the  rear  of  hit 
Ming  in  disrate,  L  406-4if7 :  goes  to 
France.  L  407 ;  carries  aii|iplies  to 
his  hrcther  at  Bispauola.  L  479; 
appriated  addantado.  L  479;  focndt 
^ev  Isabrila.  afterward  San  Dokib- 
go.L  4$4;  ininma,  L  6DD;  |otast>e 
icwrth  expedition.  L  506;  potsdoaa 
the  mutiny  at  Ismsha.  L  OS ;  and 
Jchn  Cahot,  &  8, 4. 


INDEX. 


607 


Ckdmnbns,  Chrirtopher,  his  alleged  in- 
formation from  Adam  of  Bremen,  L 
211 ;  carried  cattle  with  him  to  the 
West  Indies,!. 218;  and  "Frislanda,*' 

'  L  236 ;  the  trae  discoverer  of  Amer- 
ica, L  265;  and  Cathay,  i.  279;  his 
■econd  homeward  and  third  outward 
▼oyages,  i.  313;  and  religion,  i.  318 ; 
sonxoes  forthe  life  of,  i.  335-341 ;  a 
TQluminous  writer,  i.  338;  his  let- 
ters, i.  338;  early  life,  i.  339;  Uyes 
by  Lnring  and  Harrisse,  L  342 ;  date 
of  birth  of,  by  the  deed  at  Savona,  i. 
■  342,  343 ;  according  to  Bemaldes,  L 
343 ;  according  to  nis  own  letter  of 
1501,  L  344 ;  probable  date  of  birth 
1436,  L  345 ;  permitted  to  ride  on  a 
mule,  i.  345 ;  his  birthplace,  i.  346 
his  evly  life  and  education,  i.  349 
date  of  his  going  to  Lisbon,  i.  350 
his  letter  to  King  Ferdinand  1505, 
as  evidence  that  he  went  to  Portu- 
gal cir.  1470,  i.  360 ;  his  personal  ap- 
pearance, i.  363 ;  marries  and  goes 
to  Porto  Banto  to  live,  L  353;  studies 
the  charts  left  by  Perestrelo,  i.  354 ; 
consults  Toscanelli,  L  355 ;  Tosca- 
nelli's  first  letter  to,  i.  356 ;  Toeca- 

'  nelli's  second  letter  to,  L  361 ;  did 
he  first  suggest  the  westward  route 
to  the  Indiee,  i.  363 ;  the  date  of  the 
first  letter  of  Toscanelli,  i.  3r)&-368 ; 
the  "Imago  Mundi"  a  favourite  book 
of,  i.  372 ;  facsimile  of  annotations 
by,  L  373 ;  his  opinion  of  the  size  of 
the  globe,  the  width  of  the  Atlantic 
ocean,  etc.,  i.  377;  leiigth  of  his 
first  voyage,  i.  378 ;  his  reliance  on 
Alliacus,  T.  378,  380 ;  his  mlscalcu- 
laUon  of  distance,  i.  380,  381 ;  the 
purpose  of  his  scheme,  i.  381 ;  his 
treatise  on  the  five  cones,  i.  382; 
voyages  to  Ouinea  and  the  Arctic 
ocean,  i.  382 ;  what  he  knew  of  Yin- 
land,  i.  384 ;  not  probable  that  he 
beard  of  Adam  of  Bremen's  allu- 
aion,  i.  386 ;  Storm's  opinion,  L  386 ; 
Vinhmd  forgotten  by  1400,  i.  387 ; 
knowledge  of  Vinland  of  little  value 
to,  I.  888 ;  a  knowledge  of  Yinland 
would  have  Iwen  an  invaluable  argu- 
ment to  convince  his  adversaries,  i. 
390-392 ;  contemporary  evidence 
that  he  did  not  know  of  Yinland,  i. 
39CI;  rteumd  of  the  genesis  of  his 

3:heme,  L  385;  negotiations  with 
ohn  II.  of  Portugal,  L  396 ;  Portu- 
guese estimates  of  Columbus,  i.  396, 
397;  he  leaves  Portugal,  i.  898; 
death  of  his  wife,  L  399 ;  enters  the 
Spanish  service,  1. 399 ;  said  to  have 
tried  to  Interest  Genoa  and  Yenice 
in  his  enterprise,  i.  400 ;  and  Sala- 
manca, i.  401 ;  birth  of  Ferdinand 
his  son,  i.  401 ;  did  not  saU  with 
Diaa,  L  402,  403;  vlsito  Bartholo- 
mew at  Lisbon,  and  sends  him  to 


England,  i.  404 ;  Micoaraged  hy  the 
duke  of  Medina-Celi,  L  408;  Isa- 
bella undecided  what  to  do,  i.  409 ; 
he  determines  to  go  to  France,  i. 
409 ;  at  Huelva,  i.  410 ;  meets  Juan 
Peres,  who  writes  to  the  queen,  i. 
411;  summoned  to  court,  i.  411; 
confused  story  of  his  visits  to  La 
B^ida,  i.  412;  the  conference  be- 
fore Qranada,  i.  413;  tlie  clervy 
support  him,  i.  413;  his  terms  in 
negotiating  with  the  Queen,  L  414 ; 
his  religious  feelings,  L  416;  his 
terms  reused,  i.  416 ;  his  agreement 
with  the  sovereigns,  i.  417. 

First  voyage :  now  the  money  was 
raised,  i.  418;  sails  from  Palos,  i. 
421 ;  delayed  at  the  Canaries,  i.  421 ; 
his  true  and  false  reckonings,  L  424, 
425;  explains  the  deflection  of  the 
needle,  i.  425 ;  enters  the  Sargasso 
sea,  i.  426 ;  the  trade  winds,  L  428 ; 
the  crew  impatient,  i.  428 ;  changes 
his  course,  L  429 ;  land  ahead,  Octo- 
ber 12,  i.  431 ;  joy  of  the  sailors, 
L  431 ;  discovers  Ouimahani,  i.  432 ; 
groping  for  Cathay,  L  433,  434;  his 
messengers  to  the  Oreat  Klian,  i. 
435 :  deserted  by  Martin  Pinson,  i. 
436 ;  at  Hayti  or  Hispaniola,  i.  436 ; 
the  Santa  Maria  wrecked,  i.  437 ; 
leaves  a  colony  at  Hispaniola,  i.  438 ; 
meets  tlie  Pinta,  and  is  nearly 
wrecked  by  a  storm,  i.  438 ;  his  re- 
ception at  the  Axores  and  in  Portu- 
gid,  i.  440,  441 ;  Portuguese  advise 
his  assassination,  i.  441 ;  liis  return 
to  Palos,  L  441;  his  reception  by 
the  sovereigns  at  Barcelona,  i.  443 ; 
number  of  ships  and  men  in  the  seo- 
ond  voyage,  L  445 ;  liis  discovery  an 
event  without  any  parallel  in  his- 
tory, i.  446 ;  a  discoverer  of  Strange 
Coasts,  i.  448 ;  his  letter  to  Sanches 
translated  into  Latin  and  known  in 
England  and  Italy,  i.  449-451 ;  Mr. 
Major's  rendering  of  the  letter  to 
Sanches,  L  460 ;  and  the  expedition 
of  Cabot,  L  451 ;  earliest  references 
to  his  discoveries,  i.  451, 452 ;  hated 
by  Fonseca,  L  462. 

Second  voyage:  makes  prepara- 
tions for  selling,  i.  463;  notable 
persons  who  accompanied,  i.  4C3; 
narratives  of  the  vovage  of,  i.  464 ; 
he  cruises  among  the  cannibal  is- 
lands, i.  465 ;  explores  Cibao,  i.  467 ; 
discovers  Jamaica,  i.  470;  searches 
for  Zaiton,  i.  472 ;  feels  sure  that  he 
has  found  India,  L  474 ;  takes  pre- 
caution against  cavillefs,  L  476| 
477 ;  returns  ill  to  the  town  of  Isa- 
bella, i.  478 ;  appoints  Bartholomew 
his  brother  adelantado,  i.  479 ;  tb« 
meeting  at  Hispaniola  and  charge 
that  he  was  tyrannical,  i.  481 ;  In 
trouble  with  the  Indians,  i.  481| 


608 


INDEX. 


reoeivM  new  nippliea,  L  482;  and 
Agoado,  i.  483;  diacoyera  gold 
nlnea,  i.  483;  bellevea  Hiapaniola 
to  be  Ophir,  i.  484;  retunu  to 
Bpain  and  U  kindly  receiyed,  L  484, 
486;  protests  against  the  edicts  of 
1496  and  1497,  L  486,  487 ;  loses  his 
temper,  i.  487. 

Third  voyage:  the  expedition  in 
1498.  i.  488 ;  his  course,  1.  488,  489 ; 
becalmed,  i.  490 ;  reaches  Trinidad, 
L  491 ;  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco, 
L  491,  492;  bis  speculations  as  to 
the  earth^s  shape,  i.  491;  and  the 
podtion  of  Eden,  i.  496 ;  arrivea  at 
Ban  I>omingo,  i.  496 ;  overshadowed 
by  Vasco  &  Oama's  discoveries,  i. 
498 ;  in  irons,  L  600 ;  sent  to  Spain, 
L  601 ;  his  arrival  at  the  Alhambra, 
i.  602;  the  responsibility  of  the 
iovereigns,  L  603w 

Fourth  voyage :  purpose  of  this 
last  voyage,  L  604,  606 ;  his  letter 
to  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  i.  606; 
leaves  Cadis  in  1602,  i.  606;  or- 
dered out  of  San  Domingo,  i.  606 ; 
on  the  coast  of  Honduras,  i.  608; 
passee  Cape  Oracias  a  Dios,  i.  609 ; 
liears  news  of  the  Pacific  ocean  and 
India,  i.  610;  his  fruitless  search 
for  the  F.trait  of  Malacca,  i.  610  ;  at- 
tempts to  make  a  settlement,  i.  611 ; 
shipwrecked  on  the  coast  of  Ja- 
maica, i.  612 ;  his  return  to  Spain, 
i.  613;  his  death,  i.  613;  his  last 
resting-place,  i.  613;  his  coat-of- 
arms,  and  the  '*Nuevo  Hundo,"  L 
614,  616;  news  of  his  first  voyage 
reaches  England,  ii.  4;  compared 
with  Cabot,  ii.  23 ;  and  the  egg,  ii. 
23 ;  and  VeBpucius,  ii.  29 ;  proved 
to  be  the  discoverer  of  the  Pearl 
Coast,  ii.  60;  he  did  not  discover 
Honduras,  it  70;  and  the  agree- 
ment to  swear  that  Cuba  was  part 
of  India,  ii.  71 ;  Aguado*s  commission 
to  inquire  into  the  charges  against, 
IL  84 ;  influence  of  Yeepncius^s  first 
voyage  on  Columbus^s  fourth,  ii. 
92 ;  Cabral^s  discovery  independent 
of,  ii.  9S;  and  Vespucius  thought 
to  have  done  different  things,  ii. 
129;  why  the  continent  did  not 
take  his  name,  ii.  138-142 ;  said  to 
have  been  supplanted  by  Vespucius, 
ii.  IW;  visit  of  Vespucius  to,  il. 
1?2 ;  Lope  de  Vega  on.  ii.  181 ;  and 
the  voyage  of  liagellan,  ii.  210; 
begiimu^^  of  Indian  sl.tvery  under, 
U.  4X\  4^ :  the  glory  of  his  achieve- 
ment, ii.  &*i3. 

Columbus.  IHegtk,  youngest  brother 
of  Christopher,  date  of  his  birth,  i. 
943 ;  sails  isith  his  brother,  i.  463 ; 
in  command  at  Isabella,  i.  468 ;  and 
the  mulirv,  i.  4Tl» :  in  irons,  i.  500. 

Oohnnbiw,  Die^,  ton  of  Christopher, 


named  bjhii  fathfltr  to  liilMrits*^ 
tates  in  the  Indies,  L  918;  hisbiith, 
L  364;  left  at  Hoelva  in  8paiB,L 
399;  page  to  Don  John,  and  to 
Queen  Isabella,  L  413 ;  his  tomb,  L 
613;  claims  of,  ii.  47 ;  hia  Uwsnit 
against  the  crown,  iL  4ft-61 ;  at  Eis> 
paniola,  ii.  239 ;  liia  relatioaa  totbs 
crown,  iL  366;  oomqiMrB  Cuba,  fi. 
460. 

Columbus,  Ferdinand,  son  of  Christo- 
pher, mentions  an  objection  mged 
against  his  father's  voyage,  L  310; 
his  father's  biographer,  L  336;  his 
library,  i.  336 ;  Ignorant  of  tiie  de- 
tails of  his  fathers  early  lif e,  L  339 ; 
Harrisse  on  the  antheaticity  of  his 
book,  i.  340;  hia  birth,  L  401;  his 
narrative  of  Columbus's  virita  to  La 
Ribida,  L  412 ;  witnesses  the  saiMng 
of  his  father  in  1493,  L  464;  and  his 
father'a  fetters,  i.  601 ;  sails  with 
the  fourth  expedition,  i.  606 ;  motto 
on  his  tomb  at  Seville,  i.  614 ;  did 
not  object  to  the  name  **  America," 
iL  142-146. 

Columbus,  Giovanni,  brother  of  Chris- 
topher, ratifies  a  deed  of  ssle,  L 

Commerce,  between  Europe  and  Asia, 
i.  262;  articles  of,  i.  263;  with 
Cliiua.  i.  2G5;  checked  by  the  Sara- 
cens, 1.  269 ;  and  Constanthiople,  L 
270 ;  of  Venice  and  Genoa,  i.  274, 
275;  centres  and  routes  of  medis- 
val,  i.  275 ;  articles  of,  in  the  14th 
century,  i.  276 ;  cut  off  by  the  Otto- 
man Turks,  L  293. 

Comogre's  son,  tells  Balboa  of  Peru, 
U.  374. 

Compara,  mariner's,  history  of,  L  313 ; 
superstition  about,  i.  314;  deflec- 
tion of  the  needle  first  noticed,  L 
426. 

Congo,  missionaries  sent  to,  L  327. 

Conquest,  the  Spanish,  Mr.  Morgan 
on,  i.  12!9 ;  chronicle  of  Nakuk  P^h, 
a  native  chief,  on,  L  138. 

Constautine,  emperor,  and  the  power 
of  the  papacy,  L  456-458. 

Constantinople,  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, L  270 ;  destruction  of,  L  273 ; 
captured  by  the  Turks,  L  293. 

Continents,  origin  of  their  names,  ii. 
136-138. 

Cook,  Captain,  describes  the  island  of 
South  GeorgiA,  iL  106. 

Cooke,  Esten,  on  Pocahontas,  L  98. 

Cordeiro,  Luciano,  his  opinion  of  Co- 
lumbus, i.  396. 

Cordilleras,  Indians  of,  i.  23,  82 ;  cul- 
ture in,  ii.  2M. 

Cordova,  Columbus  at,  L  401. 

Cordova,  Francisco  Hemandes  de  (1), 
his  expedition  in  1517,  iL  240 ;  hii 
defeat  at  Champoton,  and  death,  ii 
242. 


^  .•.•:.. 


>,*,  J  . 


INDEX. 


609 


Cordova,  Francisco  Hernandez  de  (2), 
sent  by  Pedrarias  to  occupy  Nica- 
ragua, ii.  389 ;  put  to  death  for  iu- 
■ubordination,  ii.  390. 

Comaro,  Francesco,  his  letters  estab- 
lishing the  sixth  voyage  of  Vespu- 
dns,  ii.  175. 

Coronado,  Francisco  de,  pueblos  vis- 
ited bv,  i.  89;  compares  Zuiii  to 
Granada,  L  9i;  exptBdition  of,  iL 
608. 

Correa,  Oaspar,  on  Magellan  before 
the  king  of  Portugal,  ii.  190. 

Cortereal,  Gaspar,  and  Miguel,  their 
voyages  in  1500-1502  from  Portugal, 
iL  18,  19. 

Cortes,  Hernando,  compares  TIascala 
to  Granada,  L  94,  96;  Mr.  Prescott 
on,  i.  M ;  his  inaccuracies,  i.  96 ;  his 
account  of  the  Aztec  dinner,  i.  126, 
127 ;  and  the  church,  L  318 ;  in  the 
year  1519,  ii.  212 ;  appointed  com- 
mander of  the  exp^ition,  ii.  245 ; 
founds  Vera  Cruz  and  scuttles  his 
ships,  ii.  246,  247;  compared  with 
Agathokles,  who  burned  his  ships, 
ii.  247  ;  hie  army,  ii.  248 ;  favouring 
circumstances,  ii.  248,  249 ;  his  au- 
dacity at  Cempoala,  ii.  249 ;  opposed 
at  TIascala,  ii.  253 ;  forms  an  alli- 
ance with  the  Tlascalans,  ii.  255; 
discovers  the  plot  at  Cholula,  ii. 
256;  called  Molmtzin,  ii.  257;  in 
the  city  of  Mexico,  ii.  274 ;  his  per- 
flous  situation,  ii.  275;  advantage 
in  getting  the  "  chief-of-men  *' in 
his  power,  ii.  276 ;  makes  the  afFair 
of  Quauhpopoca  a  pretext  for  seiz- 
ing Montezuma,  ii.  279 ;  orders 
Quauhpopoca  burned  alive,  ii.  280 ; 
crushes  the  conspiracy  to  free  Mon- 
tezuma, ii.  281 ;  Narvaez  arrives  to 
arrMt,  ii.  282 ;  defeats  and  captures 
Narvaez,  ii.  282;  he  liberates  Cui- 
tlahuatzin,  who  is  made  **chief-of- 
men"  in  place  of  Montezuma,  ii. 
285;  obliged  to  leave  Mexico,  ii. 
285 ;  the  Melancholy  Night,  and  the 
victory  of  Otumba,  ii.  286, 287 ;  gains 
the  Tezcucans,  ii.  288  ;  the  conquest 
of  Mexico,  ii.  289 ;  his  death,  ii.  290 ; 
his  motives,  ii.  291,292  ;  his  mother 
a  Pizarro,  ii.  385. 

Cosa.    See  La  Cosa. 

Cosmas  ludicopleustes,  a  monk,  his 
book  on  India,  i.  266 ;  shape  of  the 
earth  according  to,  i.  266,  267 ;  some 
inscriptions  at  Binai  described  by, 
i.  266. 

"  Cosmographise  Introductio,"  Wald- 
seemiUlers  pamphlet,  containing 
Yespucius's  letter  in  Latin,  ii.  135. 

Counties  in  England,  their  growth 
from  tribes,  i.  99. 

Couriers,  in  Peru  and  in  China,  ii.  328, 
329. 

Cooirin,  Jean,  of  Dieppe,  in  a  storm 


blown  across  to  Brazil,  i.  160 ;  Har- 
risse  on,  i.  150. 

Covilham,  Pedro  de,  hfa  journey  to 
Egypt,  i.  331. 

Cox,  Sir  G.  W.,  on  solar  myths,  i.  196. 

Creek  confederacy,  L  42. 

Cremation,  practised  by  Mexican 
tribes,  i.  108. 

Cresson,  H.  T.,  i.  8;  discovers  evi- 
dence of  early  man  in  Indiana,  i.  9 ; 
and  in  Delaware,  i.  10,  14. 

Croll,  Dr.,  on  the  Glacial  epoch,  i.  7. 

Cruelty,  as  shown  by  Indians  and 
Spaniards,  L  49,  50. 

Crudes,  the,  i.  270 ;  effect  of,  i.  272, 
273 ;  the  Fourth  Crusade,  i.  274. 

Cuba,  Columbus  at,  i.  434 ;  called  a 
part  of  China,  i.  444;  Columbus 
coasts  about,  and  names  Cape  Cruz, 
i.  471 ;  its  resemblance  to  Cathay, 
i.  471,  472;  circumnavigated  by 
Pinzon,  ii.  71 ;  on  La  Cosa's  map  in 
1500,  ii.  72,  73 ;  insularity  detected 
before  1502,  iL  79 ;  confused  with 
Florida,  U.  80. 

Cuitlahuatzin,  brother  of  Montezuma, 
a  prisoner,  ii.  281 ;  made  *'  chief-of- 
men  **  in  place  of  Montezuma,  and 
attacks  Cortes,  iL  285;  his  death, 
iL288. 

Culture,  not  a  distinction  of  race,  i. 
23 ;  grades  of,  i.  24 ;  survivals  of  by- 
gone epochs  of,  i.  37. 

Cumaud,  colony  of  Las  Casaa  at,  IL 
459^161. 

Cushing,  F.  H.,  account  of  his  discov- 
eries, i.  35 ;  and  the  Zufiis,  L  86 ;  col- 
lecU  the  folk-tales  of  the  Zu£iis,  iL 
507. 

Cuzco,  building  of,  ii.  320 ;  road  be- 
tween Quito  and,  ii.  327  ;  Spaniards 
besieged  in,  ii.  411 ;  Almagro  seizes, 
U.  411. 

Dakota,  family  of  tribes,  territory  of, 
i.  40. 

Damariscotta  river,  Maine,  shell- 
mounds  on  its  banks,  i.  4. 

Dante,  referred  to  by  Prescott,  i.  120 ; 
his  tutor,  {.  314;  the  cosmography 
of  hia  Divine  Comedy,  i.  3tl ;  his 
abhorrence  of  the  *' Donation  of 
Constantine,"  i.  456. 

Darwin,  Charles,  on  the  improvement 
of  certain  Penn-ian  animals  through 
selection,  ii.  359. 

Dasent,  Sir  George,  his  work  on  Ice- 
land, L  154. 

Dati,  Giuliano,  his  paraphrase,  in 
verse,  of  Columbus's  letter  to  San- 
chez, i.  450. 

Ddvila,  Gil  Gonzalez,  Pedrarias  re- 
fuses to  give  liim  Balboa's  ships,  ii. 
388,  3S9;  discovers  Nicaragua,  iL 
389 ;  hU  death,  ii.  390. 

Davis,  John,  his  arctic  explorationa, 
U.  546. 


610 


INDEX. 


DftTj,  Bir  Hmnplixy,  eoriooi  addren 
of  a  letter  for,  i.  236. 

DawkiuB,  Professor  Boyd,  on  the  cave 
men,  i.  12, 17. 

Deane,  Charles,  on  John  Cabot,  ii.  2. 

De  Costa,  B.  F.,  version  of  the  fate  of 
Bjami  Orimolf sson,  f.  1G9 ;  proves 
that  Thorflnn  did  not  visit  Maine,  L 
181 ;  and  Bkraolings,  L  189. 

Dee,  Dr.  John,  his  map  in  1580,  iL 
626,627. 

Deguignes,  on  the  Chinese  discover- 
ing Mexico,  L  149. 

De  Morgan,  Professor,  his  **  Budget  of 
Paradoxes,**  i.  268. 

Demosthenes,  at  Syracuse,  i.  112. 

De  Soto.    See  Soto. 

Diss,  Bartholomew,  passes  the  Gape 
of  Good  Hope,  i.  331,  332 ;  effecto  of 
his  voyage,  i.  333. 

Dias  de  Castillo,  JSemai,  the  chroni- 
cler, **  grandees  **  mentioned  by,  i. 
IW ;  his  description  of  Montesuma, 
i.  126;  with  Cordova's  expedition 
in.  1517,  U.  240 ;  his  first  sight  of 
Mexico,  iL2E0\  ou  Mexican  canni- 
balism, U.  268,  269. 

Dighton  inscrijption,  Washington's 
opinion  on,  i.  213. 

Discovery  of  America.    See  America. 

Divorce  among  the  Indians,  i.  69. 

Dodge,  Colonel  Richard,  his  know- 
ledge of  Indians,  i.  60 ;  on  drudgery 
of  Indian  women,  i.  68. 

Dollinger,  Ignaz  von,  his  "  Fables  re- 
specting the  Popes  of  the  Middle 
Ages,"  i.  468. 

Dog,  early  domesticated,  i.  27 ;  found 
wild  in  La  PUta,  L  219 ;  in  America, 
i.  471. 

Dominica  discovered,  i.  465. 

**  Donation  of  Constantine,"  and  pa- 
pal power,  i.  466'458. 

Drake,  Sir  Francis,  his  voyage  around 
the  world,  ii.  546. 

Draper,  Dr.,  on  the  Peruvians,  L  33 ; 
his  **  Conflict  between  Science  and 
Religion,**  gives  a  false  impression 
regarding  Columbus  and  the  clergy, 
1.413. 

Drogio,  a  country  visited  by  Norse 
flutermen,  i.  246 ;  inhabitants  of,  i. 
246 ;  the  story  of,  quite  possible,  L 
252. 

Duubar,  J.  B..  on  the  Pawnees  and 
Arickarees,  i.  42. 

Dutch,  the,  their  trade,  ii.  559 ;  con- 
quer the  Portuguese  Indies,  ii.  5G0. 

Eannes,  On,  passes  Cape  Bojador,  L 
323 :  ii.  105. 

East  Bygd,  Greenland.  See  Green- 
land. 

Kast  Indies,  works  on  the  history  of, 
ii.  182;  conquered  by  the  Portu- 
guese, ii.  182. 

Sccentric  literature,  L  2G8. 


Bden,  Richard,  hia  aeocxnit  of  Btrm 
foundlaod,  1666,  IL  22;  Usvenioa 
of  MsgeUan*8  paaai^e  totha  Psdik, 
iL  199,  200. 

Edward  m.  of  Bngland«  natera  of  Us 
kingahip,  L  113. 

EeUs,  Myron,  hia  book  on  the  ladiinsi 
i.  39. 

Egede,  Hana,  Uaviait  to  OraaDlaod  ia 
1721,  L  226. 

Egyptians,  andent,  claaaed  as  drO- 
iaed,  L  23 ;  oomnared  with  the  As- 
tecs,  L  34 ;  ana  the  pyramids,  ii. 
868. 

Ehsano,  Sebastian,  in  the  mutiny 
against  MageUan.  U.  196;  elected 
captain-general  of  Magellan's  expe- 
dition, iL  207 :  captain  of  the  Victo- 
ria, iL  208 ;  his  crest  and  honoars, 
U.  211. 

Elephants,  references  to  the  use  of,  in 
war,  L  187 ;  in  Manretania  and  in 
India,  L  369. 

Emanuel,  Iting  of  Portugal,  aeconss 
the  aervices  of  Yeapadus,  iL  98; 
rejects  MsgeUan*s  proposals,  iL 
190 ;  tries  to  ruin  his  expedition,  iL 
192. 

Enciso,  Martin  Ferxumdex  de,  his  expe- 
dition to  relieve  San  Sebastian,  iL 
369 ;  deposed  by  his  men,  ii.  371 ;  in- 
fluences the  king  against  Balboa,  iL 
373 ;  returns  to  SanU  Maria  del  Da> 
rien,  ii.  378. 

Kiriquex  de  Arena,  Beatrix,  and  Co- 
lumbus, L  401. 

Erstosthenes,  his  belief  that  tiie  In- 
dian ocean  was  continuous  with  tbs 
AtUntic,  i.  296 ;  his  faifluence,  L  306 ; 
his  way  to  reach  India,  i,  369 ;  eati- 
mates  the  drcnmferenoe  of  the 
earth,  L  374. 

Eric  Gnupsson,  bishop  of  Greenland, 
L222. 

Eric  the  Red,  his  colony  in  Greentand, 
L  167. 

Eric  the  Red*s  Saga,  evidences  of  the 
truth  of,  L  185-192,  329;  not  folk- 
lore, L  195,  196 ;  basis  of  the  narra- 
tive of  Yhiland,  L  198 ;  Hauk*s  ver- 
sion of,  i.  201,  202 ;  and  Jon  Thord- 
har8Son*s  venddo,  L  207 ;  defence  of, 
L  211. 

Eric  Uppsi.    See  Eric  Gnnpssoo. 

Escobar,  Pedro  de,  crosses  the  equa- 
tor, L  326. 

Eedras,  fourth  book  of,  on  the  inhab- 
ited world,  i.  380. 

Eskimos,  i.  16 ;  a  remnant  of  the  cave 
men,  i.  17 ;  a  diiTerent  stock  froia 
the  Indiaxis,  L  20;  not  meant  Iqr 
Skrselings,  i.  188. 

Espinosa,  Gaspar  de,  at  Etanta  Marls 
del  Darien,  iL  378;  his  voyage  io 
Balboa*s  ships,  ii.  387 ;  interested  ia 
Pixarro*s  expedition  to  Pern,  iL 
391. 


INDEX. 


611 


SitoCiland,  Antonio  Zeno*«  deacrip- 
Uon  of,  i.  244. 

Xstuf  M,  or  cooncQ-hooMS  of  the  pueb- 
lo Indians,  i.  89. 

Budoxna,  his  voysges  on  the  coast  of 
Africa,  i.  302 ;  Btrabo  and  Pliny  on, 
L302. 

Eugenius  IV.,  pope,  mnta  heathen 
countries  to  Portugal,  i.  324,  467. 

Europe,  wbrthe  voyages  of  the  North- 
men produced  so  Uttle  effect  in,  i. 
267,  268 ;  stote  of,  in  the  year  1000, 
i.  268 ;  and  Asia,  i.  261 ;  the  inhab- 
ited world  of  medisBTal,  L  261 ;  her 
trade  with  Asia,  i.  262 ;  the  dark 
ages  of ,  L  268 ;  and  the  Turks,  i. 
271 ;  in  the  fourteenth  century,  L 
276 ;  oriffin  of  the  name,  ii.  136. 

Bxogamy,  In  Australia,  i.  60 ;  in  the 
phratry,  L  70. 

Byrbyggja  Saga,  mentions  Vinland,  L 
208. 

Faroe  islands,  ITIod^  Zeno  wrecked 
upon,  L  227  ;  Sinclair's  conquest  of, 
i.  228 ;  Antoido  Zeno  returns  to,  i. 
230;  the  name,  on  Nicol6  Zeno's 
map,  i.  236. 

Family,  patriarchal,  not  primitive,  i. 
63;  "mother-right,'*  L  64;  in  the 
lower  status  of  savagery,  i.  68 ;  the 
clan,  L  GO ;  change  A  Idnahip  from 
female  to  nude  line,  and  its  results, 
L  61-63 ;  famUy  life,  L  66,  67 ;  in 
Mexico  at  the  time  of  the  discov- 
ery, L  122. 

Fiaria  y  Sousa,  on  Magellan  offering 
his  services  to  Spafan,  ii.  191. 

Females,  kinship  reckoned  through, 
L  66,  67 ;  power  in  domestic  life,  i. 
68 ;  councils  of  squaws  among  the 
Wyandots,  i.  70 ;  results  of  kinship 
through,  i.  77 ;  among  the  Zuftis,  L 
89 ;  succession  through,  in  Peru,  iL 
316. 

Fenton,  hto  **  Early  Hebrew  Life,"  1. 
63. 

Ferdinand,  king  of  Aragoo,  his  rela- 
tion to  Columbus's  enterprise,  i. 
419 ;  and  Pinion's  expedition  in  1497, 
i.  487,  U.  86;  hto  position  in  1611, 
iL  448 ;  death,  U.  452. 

Femandes,  Garcia,  hto  testimony  re- 
lating to  Columbus,  i.  412. 

Feudalism,  unknown  to  aboriginal  so- 
ciety in  America,  i.  98,  100. 

Fewkes,  Dr..  hto  collection  of  Zufii 
melodies,  ii.  470. 

Fiji,  cannibalism  in.  L  120. 

Finnus,  Orontius,  hto  globe  in  1631. 
ii.  122 ;  hifluenced  by  Ptolemy  and 
Mela,  ii.  126. 

Fhm  M'Cumhail,  the  Irish  legends  of, 
and  Homer,  i.  196. 

Five  Nations,  joined  in  a  confederacy, 
L  46.  See  aUo  Iroquoto;  Iroquoto 
Ocnfederacy. 


Flateyar-b6k  verrion  of  Eric  the  Bed's 
Saga,  i.  199. 

Florida,  on  Gantino's  map,  1602,  ii.  74 ; 
before  the  exploration  of  Ponce  de 
Leon,  ii.  79 ;  P(moe  de  Leon's  voy- 
a^  on  the  coast  of,  ii.  486 ;  Donu- 
mcans  in,  ii.  611 ;  Huguenots  in, 
ii.  612 ;  vengeance  of  Qourgues,  iL 
620. 

Folk-lore,  of  the  red  men,  L  61 ;  Jour- 
nal of,  1.  62. 

Fonseca,  Juan  Rodrigues  de,  at  the 
head  of  the  department  cf  Indian 
affairs  in  Spain,  i.  460 ;  he  quarreto 
with  Columbus,  i.  462 ;  delavs  Co- 
lumbus, L  487  ;  hto  machinations  at 
tiie  court,  i.  497 ;  hto  creature  Boba- 
dilla,  L  499;  on  the  return  of  Co- 
lumbus, i.  603 ;  voyage  of  Ojeda  in- 
stigated by,  ii.  93 ;  and  Cortes,  iL 
290 ;  and  Pedrarias  DiiviU,  U.  378 ; 
and  Indian  slavenr,  iL  452 ;  hinders 
Las  Casas,  U.  460. 

Fort  Caroline,  built  bv  Laudonni^, 
ii.  613 ;  slaughter  of  the  people  fay 
Menendes,  ii.  616. 

Fox,  Captain  OusUvus,  hto  identifica- 
tion of  Ouanahani,  i.  433. 

France,  in  the  year  1000,  i.  268. 

French,  the,  their  policv  in  coloniza- 
tion, ii.  529;  drawn  Into  the  inte- 
rior, ii.  530 ;  result  of  their  hostOity 
to  the  Five  Nations,  U.  630. 

Freydto,  daughter  of  Eric  the  Red, 
and  her  evil  deeds  in  Vinland,  L 
169-171. 

Fries,  Lorenx,  hto  edition  of  Ptolemy, 
ii.  145. 

Frislanda,  on  Nicol6  Zeno's  map  and 
in  Columbus's  letter,  L  236 ;  proved 
the  same  as  the  Fseroe  islands,  L 
238 ;  described  by  Columbus,  i.  382. 

Frobiaher,  Sir  Martin,  hto  explora- 
tions, ii.  646,  646. 

Fr6dhi,  founder  of  historical  writing 
in  Icetond,  L  204.  8ee  alto  Art 
Fr6dhi. 

Frontenao,  Count,  helps  La  Salle,  iL 
633. 

Fuca,  Juan  de  la,  and  the  stndt  which 
bears  hto  name,  ii.  646. 

Fuegians,  status  of,  ii.  298. 

Fusang,  the  country  discovered  by  the 
Chinese,  i.  148, 149. 

Fustel  de  Coulsnges,  on  early  king- 
ship, L  112. 

Oaffarel,  Paul,  on  the  Sargasso  sea, 
L427. 

Gallatin,  Albert,  on  the  danger  of 
trusting  the  Spanish  narratives,  L 
101. 

€tollo,  dectores  that  Columbus's  bro- 
ther suggested  the  route  to  the  In- 
dies, L  395. 

Gallo,  island  of,  Pisarro  awaits  Alm»- 
gro  and  supplies  at,  ii.  393. 

Gama,  Vasco  da.  hto  voyage  to  Hindu- 


612 


INDEX. 


■tan,  i.  498 ;  effect  of  his  diacoTer- 
ies,  U.  91. 

Oarmvito,  Andres,  desires  the  death  of 
Balboa,  iL  381;  confusion  in  the 
accounts  of  his  treachenr,  iL  383. 

Oarcilasso  de  la  Vega,  historisn,  his 
life,  ii.  307, 308 ;  testimony  concern- 
ing Bacaahuaman  hill,  ii.  307-310; 
amusing  reminiscences  of,  ii.  318; 
on  Peru  under  the  Incas,  ii.  327; 
on  the  Incas,  ii.  333;  on  the  inra- 
sion  of  the  Chances,  ii.  336 ;  on  hu- 
man sacrifices  in  Peru,  ii.  342;  on 
the  Chirihuanas,  iL  349,  3G0;  on 
prostitutes  in  Peru,  ii.  351,  352;  on 
the  name  **  Amazon,*'  ii.  415 ;  on  tiie 
conquest  of  Peru,  ii.  423. 

Gasca,  Pedro  de  la,  overthrows  Gon- 
zalo  Pizarro,  ii.  419-421. 

Oastaldi,  Jacopo,  U.  49!>-497. 

Gatschet,  A.,  i.  42. 

Gay,  8.  H.,  on  contemporary  evidence 
concerning  the  first  Toyage  of  Yes- 
pucius,  ii.  61. 

Geikie,  Archibald,  i.  7. 

Geikie,  James,  referred  to,  L  7, 14. 

Geminus,  believes  the  torrid  zone  in- 
habitable, i.  309. 

Genoa,  hatred  between  Venice  and,  i. 
274 ;  Marco  Polo  taken  prisoner  in 
the  defeat  of  Venice  by,  i.  284  ;  her 
trade  cut  off  by  the  Turks,  i.  293 ;  the 
birthpUce  of  Columbus,  i.  340-349. 

Gentilism,  aboriginal  society,  L  98; 
change  from,  to  political  society,  i. 
99 ;  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
L  99,  100;  characteristic  of  the 
Mayas,  i.  132. 

Geography,  Zeno*s  map,  i.  232 ;  igno- 
rance of,  in  Europe  cir.  1000,  i.  257  ; 
Claudius  Ptolemy's  map,  i.  263 ;  ac- 
cording to  Cosmas  Indicopleustes, 
i.  266 ;  according  to  John  Hampden 
to-day,  L  267 ;  and  the  ocean  beyond 
Cathay,  i.  278,  279 ;  Marco  Polo's 
contribution  to,  i.  284 ;  and  Prester 
John,  i.  286;  the  Catalan  map  of 
1375,  i.  287 ;  growing  interest  in,  i. 
292,  294 ;  the  Indian  ocean  accord- 
ing to  Eratoetheues  and  Ptolemy,  i. 
29(s  297  ;  map  of  Pomponius  Mela, 
i.  303 ;  the  theories  of  Ptolemy  and 
Mela  concerning  the  EUst,  L  305; 
Soythia,  i.  306 :  theory  of  the  five 
zones,  i.  306-309;  Ceylon,  L  308, 
309 ;  wild  fancies  about,  L  310,  311 ; 
the  Sacred  Promontory,  called  the 
western  limit  of  the  habitable  earth, 
i.  319 ;  the  Medici  map  of  1351,  L 
321 ;  Toscanelli's  map,  i.  357 ;  the 
westward  route  to  the  Indies,  i.  i 
3l>3 :  Pulci's  views,  L  364 ;  as  con-  ! 
ieotured  by  Aristotle,  i.  368 :  opin-  , 
Ion  of  ancient  writers,  i.  3G9.  370;  ; 
opinions  of  Christian  writers,  L  371 ;  I 
•sUmatet  of  the  dreumferenoe  of 
tiM  Mitk,  L  974,  375;  position  of . 


Chhm,  L  376 ;  according  to  Colnm* 
bus^L  377-380;  foUowing  the  fourth 
bookof  EsdrM,L379,380:  Tbiile,L 
382 ;  misleading  maps  now  used  in 
the  study  of,  i.  389 ;  Behaim's  map, 
L  422;  the  Sargasso  sea,  L  426. 
427 ;  Colombus^s  specnlatioBS  ss  to 
the  earth's  shape,  L  494 ;  coafntsd 
ideas  in  the  siztoenth  century,  iL 
8 ;  maps  of  the  Cabot  voyaires,  ii. 
9-15:  La  Cosa's  map,  iL  13,  14 
Cantino's  map  in  1602,  u.  20,  21 
first  voyage  of  Vespociua,  iL  54, 68 
La  Cosa's  map,  ii.  72;  Florida  on 
Cantino's  map,  iL  74 ;  Waldseem&l- 
ler's  Tabula  Terre  Nore,  iL  78 ;  the 
insularity  of  Cuba,  ii.  79 ;  Rnyach's 
map  in  1508,  ii.  80 ;  manner  of  nam- 
ing new  places,  ii.  87 ;  location  of 
the  "River  of  Padms*'  iL  88 ;  voysgei 
of  Vespucius,  ii.  99;  an  antarctic 
world,  ii.  107 ;  **  Mundua  Novas  "  on 
Ruysch's  map  of  1508,  U.  114-119 : 
the  Lenox  globe  in  1510,  ii.  120; 
globe  of  Finnus  in  1531,  ii.  122 ;  idea 
of  an  antarctic  continent,  iL  126 ;  po- 
sition of  CatUgara,  iL  126,  498,  600 ; 
antipodal  world  of  Mela,  ii.  rJ7; 
students  of,  at  Saint-I>i<$  and  Vien- 
na, ii.  132,  133 ;  origin  of  the  names 
of  continents,  ii.  136-138;  accord- 
ing to  Ringmann  and  Waldseemiil- 
ler,  ii.  140,  141 ;  the  Ptolemy  edi- 
tion of  1522,  ii.  145;  map  of  Leo- 
nardo da  Vinci,  ii.  146 ;  the  book  of 
Peter  Bienewitz,  ii.  151 ;  Mereator's 
map  in  1541,  ii.  152;  map  of  Stob- 
nicza  in  1512,  ii.  177  ;  Balboa  ssm 
the  Pacific,  ii.  180;  conception  of 
an  ocean  between  Mundos  Novns 
and  Asia,  ii.  183;  position  of  the 
Moluccas,  ii.  187,  IC^ ;  map  of  Ma- 
gellan's voyage,  ii.  201 ;  the  slow 
growth  of  geographical  knowledge, 
iL  211 ;  effect  on  men's  minds  of  an 
increasing  knowledge  of,  ii.  213 
dreams  of  Spanish  explorers,  ii.  214 
Mexican  pueblos  in  1519.  ii.  251  ^ 
valley  of  Mexico,  ii.  260;  nxap  tA 
Peru,  iL  397 ;  the  Sea  of  Verrazano, 
ii.  495 ;  Agnese's  map,  ii.  496,  496 ; 
Gastaldi's  map,  iL  497;  Munster's 
map,  1540,  ii.  498,  499 :  the  Seven 
Cities,  iL  602-504:  Lok's  map  in 
1582,  iL  523-525;  Thomas  Morton 
on  the  extent  of  the  continent,  iL 
526 ;  John  I>ee's  map,  U.  526, 527 ; 
work  of  the  French  explorer^  iL 
628 ;  Joliet's  map,  ii.  537-539. 

Gerbert,  pope,  his  learning,  i.  258. 

Germans,  civilization  of,  in  the  tims 
of  Ca&sar,  i.  31. 

Gibbon,  on  vicariona  sacrifice,  ii.  282. 

Gill,  kinship  among  the  Herrey  Is> 
landera,  L  63. 

Giooondo,  Giovanni,  translator  of  tbt 
"  MoiidDS  Novos,^'  iL  111. 


INDEX. 


613 


Glacial  period,  I.  6 ;  mde  fmplementa 
of,  i.  8 ;  riTer-drilt  men  of,  L  16 ; 
cave  men  of,  i.  16. 

Gods,  of  the  Azteca.  ii.  229-239 ;  and 
human  sacriflces,  ii.  272,  273. 

Gomez,  Diego,  diacoTen  the  Cape 
Verde  iabmda,  f.  326. 

Ckmies,  EeteTan,  pilot  of  the  Trinidad, 
ii.  191 ;  deserts  BCagellau  with  the 
Ban  Antonio,  ii.  199 ;  his  voyage  in 
1525  to  the  New  Bngland  coast,  iL 
491. 

Gomez  Perez,  kills  the  Inca  Manco, 
U.  424,  425. 

Oomme,  his  Villaffe  Community,  I.  77. 

Gon^alvez,  Antonio,  brings  slaves  from 
the  Rio  d*  Ouro,  JL  323 ;  and  modem 
slavery,  ii.  429. 

Gonnevule,  voyage  of,  11. 167. 

Gourgues,  Dominique  de,  massacres 
the  Spaniards  in  Florida,  ii.  520. 

Graah,  Captain,  explorationa  of,  in 
Greenland,  i.  159. 

Granada,  the  city,  Tlascala  compared 
to,  i.  91 ;  population  of,  i.  96 ;  Span- 
ish opinion  of,  L  96 ;  and  the  war 
^ith  Ferdinand,  1.  400;  pluis  of 
Columbus  discusMd  before,  1.  413 ; 
surrender  of,  i.  414. 

Grand  Lake,  shell-mounds  on  its 
banks,  i.  5. 

Gray,  Asa,  L  19. 

Gray,  Robert,  discovers  the  Columbia 
river,  ii.  543. 

Greeks,  of  the  Odyssey  an  ethnical  pe- 
riod above  the  Peruvians,  i.  83 ;  their 
change  from  gentile  to  political  so- 
ciety, L  99,  100 ;  basUeus  of,  i.  111- 
113. 

Greenland,  discovery  of,  i.  156 ;  Eric*s 
colony  in,  i.  157 ;  temperature  of,  i. 
158;  explorations  Iik  i.  159;  East 
and  West  Bygd,  L  159 ;  climate  of. 
1.  175-177  ;  visited  by  Thorkell  and 
described  by  Ari  FrOdhi,  L  205 ;  ev- 
idences of  Northmen  there  and  in 
Yinland  compared,  i.  217 ;  the  col- 
ony and  ruins  in,  i.  221, 222 ;  visited 
by  Nicol6  Zeno  cir.  1304,  i.  229 ;  vis- 
ited by  Earl  Sinclair  and  Antonio 
Zeno,  1.  229,  230 ;  on  Zeno^s  map,  i. 
234 ;  and  Zeno's  voyage,  i.  237 ;  Bard- 
sen^s  work  on,  1. 1^ ;  monastery  of 
St.  Olaus,  i.  240 ;  volcanic  phenom- 
ena in,  i.  242 ;  considered  a  part  of 
Europe,  i.  254. 

Or^ory  X.,  pope,  and  Kublai  Khan, 
1.  281. 

Griffin,  Appleton,  his  bibliographical 
articles  on  the  discovery  ox  the  Mis- 
sissippi, ii.  537. 

Orijalva,  Juan  de,  his  ships  described 
to  Hontezu^u^  ii.  228;  expedition 
in  1518,  ii.  243. 
Grote,  G.,  on  the  Greek  phratry,  1. 72 ; 

on  basileus,  i.  112. 
Gnanahani,  Identlfloation  of,  I.  433. 


Guatemala,  Las  Caaaa  at  the  monas- 
tery in,  ii.  4G4. 
Gnatemotzin,  Montezuma^s  nephew, 

made  "  chief-of-men,**  ii.  288. 
Gudleif  Gudlaugsson,  story  of,  referred 

to,  i.  171. 
Gudrid,  widow  of  Thorstein  and  wife 

of  Thorfinn,  1.  167. 
GuiUemard,  his  Life  of  Magellan,  iL 

184. 
Gunnbj0m,   discovers   Greenland,  i. 

157. 
Gunnbjom's  berries,  disappearance 

of  the  island  of,  L  242. 

Hafursfiord,  Harcdd  Fairhair*srictory, 
i.  151. 

Hale,  H.,  his  book  on  Iroquois  rites, 
i.46. 

Hampden,  John,  maintains  that  the 
earth  is  a  circular  plane,  i.  267. 

Hanno,  the  Carthaginian,  his  voyage 
on  the  west  coast  of  A^ca,  i.  301. 

Harold  Fairhair,  the  Viking  exodus 
from  Norway  after  his  conquest,  L 
151. 

Harrisse,  H.,  on  the  voyages  of  Cousin 
and  others,  i.  150 ;  on  the  authenti- 
city of  Ferdinand  Columbus's  Life 
of  his  father,  1.  340, 341 ;  Henry  St^ 
vens  and  M.  d'Avezac  on  his  argu- 
ments for  Oliva,  L  340.  341  ;  hia 
"Christophe  Colomb,'*  L  341 ;  on 
Irving's  Life  of  Columbus,  i.  342; 
on  the  birthplace  of  Columbus,  L 
348;  and  the  date  when  Columbua 
went  to  Lisbon,  i.  350,  351 ;  on  the 
date  of  Toscanelli's  first  letter  to 
Columbus,  i.  366,  367 ;  on  the  year 
when  Bartholomew  Columbus  came 
to  London,  i.  405-407 ;  and  Queen 
Isabella's  jewels,  i.  419;  authority 
on  early  editions  of  Columbus's  let- 
ters, i.  450 ;  on  the  number  of  ships 
under  Cabot's  command,  ii.  5 ;  finds 
four  copies  of  the  primitive  Italian 
text  of  Vespucius's  letter  to  Sode- 
rini,  ii.  39 ;  thinks  Vespucius  did  not 
saQ  in  1497-98,  ii.  82 ;  on  Ferdinand 
Columbus's  silence  concerning  the 
name  ** America,"  iL  144;  onl^pu- 
cius,  iL  163. 

Haug,  Dr.,  on  sacrifloes  In  Vedic  times, 
11.341. 

Hauk  Erlendsson,  and  his  manuscripts, 
1.  201,  202 ;  his  version  of  Eric  the 
Red's  Saga,  i.  207. 

Hauks-b6k  version  of  Erio  the  Bed'a 
Saga,  i.  198. 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  i.  250. 

Heckewelder,  Johaun,  published  the 
Lenape  tradition  of  the  TaUegwi,  L 
144. 

Helluland,  seen  by  Leif .  L  164. 

Helps,  Sir  Arthur,  on  Bishop  Fonseca, 
L  460 ;  on  the  horse  in  the  overthrow 
of  Mexico  and  Peru,  IL  248 ;  on  G»* 


614 


INDEX. 


xmrito's  treaolmy,  IL  384;  on  fhe 
SponJah  civil  war  in  Peru,  ii.  412 ; 
hi«  account  of  Gonsalo  Pinrro*s  re- 
bellion dted,  ii.  420 ;  his  tnuiaUtion 
of  Asurara  on  slaTery,  iL  431 ;  his 
life  of  Las  Caoas,  iL  437. 

Bennepin,  Louia  do.  bia  Ioto  of  atorlea 
of  aaventure,  iL  214 ;  in  the  Minn** 
aota  country,  iL  538;  falae  atoriea 
by,  ii.  640. 

Henry  VII.,  kinff  of  Bngland,  warned 
by  Ferdinand  and  laabella,  but 
granta  letters  patent  to  John  Oabot, 
u.  4 ;  ffiTca  him  a  pension.  iL  6. 

Heniy  the  Navigator,  his  idea  of  an 
ocean  route  to  the  Indies,  L  316-318 ; 
his  character,  L  317,  318 ;  his  mili- 
k.ury  Micceas,  L  318,  319;  retires  to 
the  Sacred  Pr<nnontory  to  >tudy  aa- 
tronomy  and  mathematica,  L  319; 
his  motto,  i.  319 ;  his  pecunianr  re- 
sources, i.  320:  farours  the  suve- 
trade,  i.  323;  his  death  not  the  end 
of  discoverr,  L  326 ;  and  the  begin- 
ning of  modem  slavery,  iL  429. 

Herbert,  George,  scansion  of  a  line  Inr, 
U.  24. 

Herodotus,  and  the  antagonism  be- 
tween Europe  and  Asia,!.  261 ;  and 
the  PluBnician  voyage  around  Africa 
in  the  time  of  Necho,  L  296 ;  narra- 
tive of  the  voyage  of  Sataspea,  L 
301,302.  ^^ 

Herrera,  Ant<niio  de.  errors  in  his  His- 
tory, iL  65 ;  describes  the  voyage  of 
Pinson  and  Soils,  iL  66;  geU  the 
date  of  the  voyage  wrong,  ii.  67; 
his  charges  against  Yeapucius,  ii. 
159. 

EUawatha,  LongfeUow^s  story  of,  L  46, 
46. 

Higginson,  Colonel  T.  W.,  his  descrip- 
tion of  a  Yikhig  ship  quoted,  i.  173 ; 
regarding  Columbus's  knowledge  of 
Yinland,  L  392;  and  BalboaV  dis- 
covery of  the  Pacific,  iL  180. 

HUdebrand,  and  the  Cruaades,  L  271. 

Hindustan,  known  by  Marco  Pdo,  L 
286. 

Hipparchus,  geographical  views  of,  L 

Hispaniola,  not  Cipanfro,  L  478 ;  mu- 
tiny of  Boyle  and  Margarite  in,  L 
479;  troubfee  with  the  Indians  at, 
i.  481 ;  arrival  of  Agusdo,  and  dis- 
covery of  gold  mines,  L  482,  483; 
Nicolas  de  Ovando  Mopointed  gov- 
ernor, L  503 ;  the  work  of  discovery 
spreads  from,  ii.  239 ;  Indian  slavery 
beginnhig  at,  iL  434 ;  Spanish  cruel^ 
in,  iL  443,  444. 

Holden,  K.  S.,  on  picture-writing,  L 
132. 

Homeric  poems,  civilisation  at  the 
time  of,l.  31, 33, 83 ;  ai«^  oyap*^  in, 
and  tlaoatecuhtli  of  the  Axtecs,  L 
Ul ;  and  ancient  Mexico,  L 130 ;  and 


the  8i«M,  L  195;  are  fdk-tae,  L 
196;  and  the  bBendsoCFbmir  Can- 
hail,  L  196;  CanarYiaiaDdstheElyw 
stum  of,  L  303;  ^lors  and  latehei 
used  by  Oreeka  of,  iL  263. 

Honduras,  Cobunboa  on  tha  ooaat  sC, 
L  606, 600;  date  of  the  diaomtyby 
Pinson  and  SoUs,  iL  67-71. 

Hoin,  Bchouteo  vmi,  sails  aromd  Obpe 
Horn,  iL  489. 

Horsford,  S.  N.,  Us  works  on  Tialand 
and  Norumbega,  L  290,  22L 

Horticulture,  the  only  cultivation  of 
the  soil  bv  abortginea,  distingnished 
from  field  agricmture,  L  48 ;  asaong 
the  CordiUerBn  peoplea,  L  &. 

Hortop,  Job,  his  adventures  in  North 
America,  i.  250. 

Hotel  de  Saint  Pol,  in  Paris,  tbs  bsD 
in  1393,  L  828. 

Howse,  work  on  the  Ciee  langnsge, 
L42. 

Hnascsr,  the  Inoa,  overthrown  by  At- 
ahualpa,  iL  396 ;  secretly  nuirderad, 
Ii.404. 

Huayna  Capae,  he  suupiesies  the  r»> 
bdOion  at  Quito,  U.  324,  326;  his 
children,  iL  345. 

Hudson,  Henry,  his  voyage  in  1600,  L 
178 ;  his  description  of  a  mermaid, 
L  194;  Bardsen's  work  on  Oreeo- 
land,  translated  for  him,  L  230 ;  his 
voyages,  ii.  646 ;  his  death,  iL  584. 

Hudson  Bay  Company,  first  grant  to^ 
ii.540. 

Huffuenota,  in  Brazil,  iL  611 ;  in  Flor> 
ida,  ii.  612 ;  maasacred  at  Mataniaa 
Inlet,  U.  617,  518 ;  worka  of  Psrk- 
man  and  others  on,  ii.  522. 

HuitzilopochtU,  the  war-god  of  the 
Astecs.  L  115. 

Humboldt,  Alexander  von,  quoted,  L 
215 ;  his  **  Bxamen  critioue  de  l*his- 
toire  de  la  geographic  de  Nouveau 
Continent.**  L  342 ;  on  the  date  of 
Toacanelli's  first  letter  to  Columbus, 
L  366,  367 ;  on  mediflBval  enterprise, 
L  380 ;  voyage  to  Trinidad  hi  1799,  L 
489 ;  on  the  naming  of  America,  iL 
45 ;  vindicates  Yespocius,  iL  163 ;  on 
the  Peruvian  potato,  iL  312,  813 ;  on 
Uterary  style,  iL  440. 

Hurons,  thc^  origin  and  migrations, 
L44. 

Huss,  John,  result  of  the  boming  of, 
L319. 

Ibn  Batuta,  of  TangiOT,  and  Ua  traveb 
hx  Asia  and  Africa,  L  291. 

Iceland,  founding  of,  L  158;  Boberi 
Lowe^a  verses  on,  L  15>^ ;  the  diron- 
ides  of,  L  154  ;  Christianity  estab- 
liahed  by  Uw  in,  L  164;  Eyrbynia 
Saga  on,  L  203;  works  on,  L  2M; 
their  histories,  i.  212 ;  twenty  active 
volcanoes  in,  i.  241 ;  viMted  by  C» 
lumbtts,  L  383,  384. 


INDEX. 


615 


Icklii^r)>*>n»  Suffolk,  origin  of  the 
name  of.  L  99. 

Idaho,  Indiana  of,  i.  40. 

"  Imago  Mundi,"  the  treatise  of  Pe- 
tru«  AlIiacuB,  1. 372 ;  written  at  Saint- 
Di«,  U.  131. 

Immortality  of  the  soul,  i.  69. 

Incas  (the  conquerins  race  in  Peru), 
iL  319,  320,  333 ;  a  disUnct  caste,  ii. 
334 ;  their  religion,  iL  338.  8ee^  aUo^ 
Peruvians. 

Incas  (rulers),  list  of,  U.  301,  303; 
names  of,  iL  321 ;  their  conquests, 
ii.  321-323;  sixe  of  their  territonr, 
il.  326;  aim  of  their  conquests,  u. 
326 ;  their  couriers,  ii.  328 ;  and  the 
council,  U.  334;  power  of,  ii.  333- 
337 ;  *' god-kings,^*  U.  338;  and  the 
Testals  of  the  Bun,  iL  346;  their 
children,  ii.  346 ;  rule  practically  ab- 
solute, ii.  346 ;  legitimate  wives,  ii. 
346;  the  end  of  their  dynasty,  ii. 
426,426. 

India,  described  by  CoamM  Indico- 
pleustes,  i.  266. 

Indiana,  pal»oliths  found  in.  L  9. 

Indian  com,  importance  of,  i.  27,  28. 

Indians,  oriigin  of,  i.  2, 16,  19 ;  a  dif- 
ferent stock  from  the  Eskimos,  L 
20;  their  antiquity  in  America,  i. 
20 ;  of  Central  America,  L  21 ;  all  of 
one  race,  i.  21, 22 ;  of  the  Cordilleras, 
L  23 ;  and  Indian  com,  i.  28 ;  status 
of,  when  seen  by  white  men,  i.  29 ; 
begin  to  work  metals,  i.  30;  the 
proper  term  for,  L  35;  value  of 
stoaying  the  customs  and  speech  of, 
L  38 ;  enmneration  of  tribes,  i.  38- 
47 ;  in  perpetual  warfare,  L  49 ;  their 
crueltv,  L  49,  50 ;  their  religion  and 
law,  L  51,  62;  communal  living 
among;  L  66;  and  effect  on  their 
houses,  i.  66,  66;  their  number  in 
New  Tork  in  1676  and  in  1875,  L  73  ; 
conquest  among,  L  77 ;  of  the  pueb- 
los, i.  82;  builders  of  the  mounds, 
L  146 ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  Dro- 

fo,  L  246 ;  so  called  by  Columbus, 
443 ;  as  seen  by  Columbus,  L  466 ; 
their  fear  of  horses,  L  467. 

Indies,  the,  search  for,  i.  296;  who 
first  sunested  the  westward  route 
to,  L  3S;  Aristotle  and,  L  368 ;  Po- 
lumbos's  discovery  of,  L  444. 

Individualism,  in  Spain,  and  in  Eng- 
Und,  U.  666,  667. 

Inirram,  David,  his  adventures  in 
North  America,  L  260. 

Inheritance,  in  the  male  line,  and  its 
results  among  the  Axtecs,  i.  123. 

Inquisition,  its  effect  upon  the  Span- 
ish race,  ii.  664. 

"  Inter  Cetera,**  bull  ismied  by  Alex- 
ander YL,  L  466 ;  ii.  680^93. 

Inventions,  accredited  to  the  Devil,  L 
316. 

Toakeha,  Um  aky-god,  L  76. 


Irish,  their  missionaries  and  pro^Jo- 
lumbian  voyages,  i.  hiti. 

Iron,  smelting  of,  i.  30,  31 ;  found  at 
Mycensa,  i.  31 ;  used  in  Egypt,  i.  31 ; 
not  known  in  aboriginal  America,  L 
31 ;  used  in  tools,  L  186. 

Iroquois,  their  origin,  i.  44;  estab- 
lished on  the  Oswego  river,  L  46 ; 
their  conquests  and  power,  i.  47  ; 
their  long  houses,  i.  66,  66 ;  League 
of,  i.  72,  73 ;  reason  for  exterminat- 
ing the  Bries,  i.  74  ;  number  of  their 
fighting  men,  L  73,  74. 

Iroquois  confederacy,  L  72,  73 ;  struc- 
ture of,  L  75  ;  compared  with  the 
Asteo  confederacy,  L  104,  106, 118  ; 
influence  upon  French  power  in 
America,  iL  630,  631. 

Irrigation  among  the  Zu£Us,  i.  83. 

Irving,  Washington,  on  Ferdinand 
Columbus's  Ufe  of  his  father,  L 
336;  Hacrisse's  estimate  of  his 
Life  of  Columbus,  L  342;  on  the 
date  of  birth  of  Columbus,  i.  3tf ; 
misstatement  regarding  the  New 
World,  L  444  ;  projects  modem 
knowledge  back  into  the  past,  i. 
473 ;  his  description  of  the  calm  on 
Columbus's  third  voyage,  i.  490 ;  a 
correction,  i.  491 ;  his  misplaced 
eulogy,  L  610 ;  his  account  of  Ojeda*a 
voyage  confused,  ii.  94. 

Isabella,  queen,  tixid  the  war  with 
Granada,  L  400;  at  Salamanca,  L 
401 ;  undecided  whether  to  help 
Columbus,  L  409 ;  she  considers  hU 
terms  exorbitant,  L  416 ;  agreement 
vriih  Columbus,  L  417 ;  raises  the 
money,  L  418;  her  crown  jewels 
pledged,  L  419 ;  receives  Columbus 
at  Barcelona,  L  443 ;  not  mentioned 
in  early  references  to  the  discovenr, 
i.  462,  463 ;  and  the  edicts  of  1496 
and  1497,  i.  486;  she  receives  Co- 
lumbus returning  in  chains,  L  502 ; 
was  she  to  blame,  i.  602 ;  her  death, 
L  513 ;  on  the  slave  Columbus  gave 
to  Las  CasaR,  ii.  439  ;  and  the  royal 
orders  of  1503  relating  to  Indians, 
ii.  441. 

Isabella,  the  town,  founded  by  Golum- 
bun,  L  467. 

I8lendinga-b6k,  i.  204. 

Inrael,  people  of,  L  2A. 

Ixtlilxochitl,  Fernando  de,  historian 
of  the  Chichimecs,  ii.  218. 

Jamaica,  discovery  of,  i.  470 ;  Colum- 
bus shipwrecked  on  the  coast  of,  i* 
512. 

James  I.,  said  to  have  been  jealous 
because  Mr.  Rolfe  married  a  prin- 
cess, Pocahontas,  L  98. 

Jan  Mayen  island,  perhaps  visited  by 
Columbus,  i.  383. 

Japan,  described  by  Marco  Polo,  L 
286;   first  rumours  of  the  wasJUi 


616 


INDEX. 


in,  L  292;  Golambiu  nils  for,  L 
421. 

JapaneM,  difference  in  coltore  among, 
L  23 ;  and  the  alphabet,  i.  32. 

Jaqnes,  Ghriatorao,  hia  voyage  in  1503, 
iL  167. 

Jay,  John,  voyage  in  aearch  of  BrazH, 
U.  3. 

Jenghia  Khan,  hia  career  of  oonqaest, 
i.  277 ;  Tisited  by  Franciscan  dumiIcb, 
i.  277,  27a 

Jews,  driven  from  Bpain,  L  i45 ;  prop- 
erty used  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
CoIambtts*s  sec<md  voyage,  i.  461. 

John  II.  of  Portugal  hears  of  Prester 
John,  i.  331 ;  discusses  Columbus's 
scheme,  L  ^6;  idays  a  trick  on 
Columbus,  i.  39ft;  Las  Casas  on,  L 
398;  advised  to  have  Colnmbos 
assassinated,  L  440. 

JoUet,  his  map  in  1673,  iL  637-539. 

Jonsson,  Amgrim,  cells  .Yinland  an 
island  of  America,  L  394. 

J6n  Thordharson,  the  Flat^nr-b6k, 
version  of  Eric  the  Bed's  Saga  by, 
L  199,  207,  251. 

Kakortok  church,  Greenland,  L  221, 

Bju-lsefnL    See  Thorfinn  Karlsefni. 
Kerry,  Ireland,  and    Zeno's    vojrage 

with  Earl  Sinchdr,  i.  2'J9. 
Kingitorsook,  Norae  inscription  on  the 

island  of,  i.  172. 
Kings,  average  length   of  reigns  in 

England  and  France,  iL  303w 
Kingsborough,  Lord,  L  3. 
Kingship,  rudimentary  in  America, 

i.  72 ;  primitive  rojralty  among  the 

Aztecs,  L   111  ;    and  the  rex   and 

basileus  of  Romans  and  Gr««k8,  i. 

Ill,  112 ;  of  the  Middle  Ages,  L  113; 

the  '*  priest-commander,*'  L  114. 
Kinship  through  females,  discussion 

and  list  of  works,  L  56. 
Kirk,  John  Foster,  the  historian,  oo 

Wilson^s  account  of  the  Conquest  of 

Mexico,  L  101. 
Kirklsnd,  Samuel,  Oneidaa  and  Tuaca- 

roras  converted  to  Christianity  by, 

L74. 
Kluproth,  on  Deguignes's  theory  of 

Chinese  discovery,  L  149. 
Kohl,  Dr.,  on  the  voyage  of  Thorfinn, 

L  181. 
Kteaiss,  the  lies  of,  a  part  of  medieval 

folk-lorv',  L  186. 
Kublai   Khan,   visited   by  the   Polo 

brothers,  L  290 ;  asks  for  miarioaary 

teachers,  L  281 ;  accepts  Buddhism, 

L281. 

La  C-oaa,  Joan  de,  commander  of  the 
Santa  Maria.  i.4a0 :  sails  again  with  I 
Columbtts.  L  461 :  his  map  in  ISOO, 
fi.  13, 14. 72. 73, 82;  sailswith  Ojeda ' 
awl  Vesvnciiis  ia  1499,  IL  93 ;  aad 


Veraadua  visit  the  gulf  of  Datin, 
IL  174 ;  perauadeaOjeda  and  Nicnass 
to  agx«e  OD  a  bonrndary  for  their 
provinces,  ii.  367  ;  hia  death,  iL 
368. 

Lsdrone  islaitda,  f onnd  by  Msgenw. 
U.  204. 

Laing,  Samuel,  on  lodand  and  Hsv 
England,  L  163 ;  hia  tranahKtion  of 
Korse  Sagas,  L  164 ;  on  TVrker  who 
found  grH>es  at  Yinland,  L  Iff; 
sugsests  motive  for  voyages  to  Yin* 
land,  L  178 ;  on  Tbormin'a  buU.  L 
187 ;  on  the  mill  at  Newport,  L  215 ; 
and  other  evidence  of  Northmen,  L 
217. 

La  Navidad,  colony  of,  f oonded,  L  438 ; 
fate  of ,  L  466. 

Lanciani,  Prof.,  L  31. 

Landa,  Diego  do,  Dr.  Taylor  misled 
by,  L  133. 

**Landnima-b6k,'*  of  XoeUnd,  L  154, 
204. 

Lang,  Andrew,  Us  criticism  of  **  Mbo- 
tezuma's  Dinner,"  i.  128 ;  on  the 
ruins  at  Palenque,  i.  ]36i. 

Languages,  American,  number  of,  L 
38 ;  diversity  of,  i.  48. 

Lanigan,  Dr.,  on  the  power  of  the 
papacy,  L  456. 

La  Puente,  told  that  Balboa  planned 
to  desert  Pedrarias,  iL  381. 

La  Rllbida,  Columbus  meets  Joaa 
Peres  at,  L  411 ;  confusion  of  the 
visiU  to,  L  411,  412. 

"Lariab,"  Yespuclus  visits,  iL  6L 

La  Salle,  Robert  de,  hia  work  of  ex- 
ploration, ii.  631,  532 ;  explores  the 
Mississippi,  ii.  634;  builds  Fort 
Cr^vec«eur,  ii.  635  ;  reaches  Mon- 
treal, iL  536 ;  defeats  the  mutinews, 
IL  535 ;  descends  the  Mississippi,  iL 
636  ;  his  last  expedition  aad  death, 
iL537. 

Las  CasM,  Bartolom^  de,  the  historian 
and  miiwionary,  his  ewtimstes  of  the 
population  of  Ch<^ula,  L  96 ;  on  the 
oolooization  of  Porto  Santo,  L  322 ; 
on  the  grant  of  heathen  lands  to 
Portugal,  L  325 ;  biographer  of  Co- 
lumbus, L  335 ;  his  History  of  the 
Indies,  L  336  ;  as  an  authority,  L 
337 ;  on  the  birthplace  of  Columbas, 
L  348 ;  'his  estimate  of  Bartholomew 
Columbus,  L  362 ;  narrative  of  tlie 
life  of  Columbua  upon  Porto  Santo, 
L  354 ;  on  Barth<^omew  C<dnmbusPa 
voyase  to  the  Cape  of  QaoA  Hope,  L 
402, 403 ;  and  Bartholomew's  map,  L 
406 ;  on  the  terms  which  Columbus 
denumded,  i.  415 ;  as  to  Columbus's 
tyranny,  L  481 ;  on  the  destmctioa 
of  Ovando's  fleet,  L  507 ;  vexed  st 
the  use  of  the  name  **  America,"  iL 
156-159 ;  his  birth  and  family,  U. 
437, 138 ;  his  character  and  wrttings, 
iL  439;  as  a  historian,  iL  440 ;  his 


INDEX. 


617 


*«  Brief  Baktloii,**  etc.,  U.  441 ;  de- 
acribes  Spanish  cruelties,  iL  444 ;  at 
thut  a  alave-owner,  iL  449 ;  comes  to 
believe  sUTcrv  wrong,  iL  460, 461 ; 
and  Fonseca,  ii.  4S2 ;  appeals  to  Car- 
dinal Ximenee,  iL  4£2 ;  and  the  intro- 
duction of  negro  slarery,  ii.  464-458 ; 
his  new  colony,  ii.  468-461 ;  becomes 
a  Dominican  monk,  ii.  462  ;  per- 
suades Charles  V.  to  prohibit  slavery 
in  Peru,  ii.  4<^ ;  at  the  monastery 
in  Guatemala,  ii.  464 ;  his  **  De  unico 
▼ocationis  modo,"  ii.  4C4  ;  his  ex- 
periment in  Tuxnlutlan,  ii.  466 ; 
his  agreement  with  Maldonado,  ii. 
467  ;  how  he  interested  the  Indians 
in  Christianity*  U.  468;  wins  the 
country  for  Spain,  ii.  472;  goes  to 
Spain,  ii.  473 ;  writes  some  famous 
books,  and  persuades  Charles  V.  to 
promulgate  the  New  Laws,  ii.  474 ; 
immense  results  of  his  labours,  iL 
476 ;  Sir  Arthur  Helps  on,  ii.  476 ; 
made  Bishop  of  Chlapa,  iL  477  ;  his 
final  return  to  Spain,  iL  478;  his 
controversy  with  Sepulveda,  ii.  478, 
479 ;  and  Philip  II.,  U.  480 ;  finishes 
his  Histonr,  iL  480;  his  death,  U.  481. 

Las  Caaas,  Francisco  de,  father  of  the 
historian,  i.  464  ;  gives  his  Indian 
slave  to  his  son,  ii.  438. 

Lathrop,  Rev.  John,  letter  containing 
Washington's  opinion  of  the  Dighton 
inscription,  i.  213. 

Latini,  Brunette,  visits  Roger  Bacon, 
i.  314. 

Latitude  and  longitude,  the  manner 
of  finding,  L  316. 

Laudonniire,  Rend  de,  his  colony  at 
Fort  Caroline,  ii.  613 ;  escapes  the 
massacro.and  returns  to  France,  ii. 
616. 

La  y^rendrye,  the  brothers,  Mioni- 
tarees  discovered  by,  L  41 ;  discover 
the  Rocky  mountains,  ii.  642. 

Law,  ancient.  Sir  Henry  Maine's  trea- 
tise on,  L  62;  primitive  law  md 
"  mother-right,"  L  64. 

Lea,  Henry  Charles,  his  *'C1iafrter» 
from  the  Religioos  History  of 
Spain,"  ii.  666. 

Ledesma,  and  the  Tocataa  chamMl, 
i.  508. 

Leif  Ericsson,  narratives  tH^  S.  \ft\ ; 
the  SOD  of  Eric  the  R^d,  L  1^3  ;  tM»- 
comes  a  Christian,  L  \tSi ;  dtsrcrvfrrs 
America,   L    IC4;    end   bis  sinter 
Freydis,  L  171 ;  eaT'fMifks  of  truth 
in  the  narrative  of  ht*  voys|^,  L 
179;  3faa«acb«NwC4e  ff  M^/rV^al  %*t- 
ciety  on,  L   m ;   «WN»Mir«d    wMti ' 
Agamemnon,  L   t96  i  hU  pfnmtt^ 
at  King  OI«r»  w^,  I  m,  ithf  ' 
called  "tber  Ijttfdtyt**  I    3(r*>  why  \ 
he  reoiaiiM4  mtkttfmti  Ut  $>t*f*pf>,  t 
L  266 :  did  Rwl  tm/l^m'^ftn  ftM  *Hf- 
niflcta**oiiMPMffir»Al<M4,».  m  | 


Leland,  G.  O.,  his  FuMsg,  L  149. 

Lemos,  Oaspar  de,  carries  news  of 
Cabral's  discovery  to  Lisbon,  ii.  97. 

Lenape,  their  stone  graves  in  the 
Delawaro  valley,  L  146. 

Lenox,  James,  globe  dr.  1610  owned 
by,  U.  120. 

Lepe,  Diego  de,  voyage  to  Brarilian 
coast,  iL  96. 

L^ry,  Baron,  his  attempt  to  found  a 
colony  in  1618,  i.  218. 

Lescarbot,  Mure,  on  the  large  eyes  of 
the  Micmacs  of  Acadia,  i.  190. 

*'  Lettera  di  Amerigo  Vespucci,"  etc., 
iL  42.  , 

Lewis,  Sir  O.  Comewall,  on  contem- 
porary souraes,  i.  200 ;  on  the  voyage 
of  the  Phoenicians  around  Africa,  i. 
299. 

Lewis,  Meriwether,  crosses  the  conti- 
nent, ii.  644. 

Lima,  Filarro  founds  the  city  of,  ii. 
408. 

Lisbon,  the  chief  city  of  the  16th 
century  in  nauUeal  science,  L  360, 
861 ;  oate  when  Columbus  went  to, 
L  360,  361. 

LUmas,  in  Peru,  iL  818. 

Llorente,  on  Altmso  de  Oieda,  ii.  460. 

Loadstone,  mountain  of,  in  the  Indian 
ocean,  i.  310. 

Lok,  Michael,  his  map  in  1682,  iL  623- 
626. 

Long  House,  the  Iroquois  donf ederaoyf 
L  76. 

Lope  de  Sosa,  to  supersede  Pedrariaa, 
ii.  386;  death  of,  U.  387. 

Los  Rios,  Pedro  de,  governor  at  Pana- 
ma, ii.  392 ;  orders  Plsarro  to  return, 
ii.  393;  sends  a  ship  to  him,  ii. 
394. 

Louisiana,  named  by  La  Salle,  iL  636. 

Lowe,  Robert,  verses  on  loeland,  L 
163. 

Lubbock.  Sir  John,  on  reeemblaoee  of 
races,  L  23, 147 ;  on  the  Coutttde,  L 
63.  ■ 

Lad,  Walter,  his  "SpeeoJnm  OrMs," 
IL  1 12 :  sets  up  a  prioting  pms  at 
ntintrt9\*,  IL  192;  to  briiic  o«t  • 
new  edition  of  tVAtimy,  Ii.  133. 

Ludewig,  on  the  mitnber  of  Ameriein 


languagM^  L  2M. 
LntnhtAtt^  descri 


bee  aborigtoal  lii^  L 


L(v|tie,  FMftiando  4«,  fose  wMb  tU 
amrrtr  to  Pern,  fL  391, 


MutCmiUif,  ClMff  on  thm 

lallon  MNmmJpAhitmi  L  M, 
Mf^TUttm^  Mr  Ko^Mrrt.  Il*4e  •  Jfortlk 

MtirrfAAtfM,  *m  tlM»  t^mMo  «f  ll«  inl^E^ 
HnMe  mttht  I  7f^. 


618 


INDEX. 


Madaira  idanda.  vlaited  1^  ICacbin,  i. 
321 ;  colonixed,  i.  322. 

MadiaonTille,  Ohio,  palnolith  found 
atf  i.  9. 

liadoc,  the  Welah  prince,  and  Catlin^a 
theoTv,  i.  41. 

MagalhSciB,  FernSo  da.  See  Uagel- 
hux. 

ICageUan,  Ferdinand.  Yetpudua  pre- 
pares the  way  for,  li.  24 ;  his  birth 
and  name,  ii.  184 ;  first  encounter 
with  IfaUys,  ii.  186 ;  friendship  for 
Serrano,  ii.  187 ;  returns  to  Portu- 
gal, ii.  188 ;  plans  to  drcumnaYisate 
the  globe,  ii.  189 ;  plans  rejected  by 
Portugal,  he  goea  to  Bpain,  ii.  190 ; 
marries,  and  sets  saU  in  1619,  ii.  191 ; 
traitors  in  the  fleet.  iL  192 ;  Carta- 
gena in  irons,  ii.  194;  in  winter 
quarters  at  Port  St.  Julian,  ii.  194 ; 
the  mutiny,  ii.  196-198 ;  discorers 
the  strait  leading  to  the  Moluccas, 
ii.  199 ;  deserted  by  Gomes,  ii.  199 ; 
enters  the  Pacific,  iL  200;  famine 
and  scurvy,  ii.  202 ;  reaches  the  La- 
drone  islands,  ii.  204  ;  his  death,  ii. 
206, 207  ;  massacre  of  the  Spaniards, 
ii.  207  ;  the  Victoria  reaches  Spain, 
ii.  209  ;  an  unparalleled  voyage,  ii. 
210;  the  death  of  his  son  and  his 
wife,  ii.  211 ;  fortunate  that  he  kept 
away  from  Central  America,  ii.  388. 

Magnusson,  Ami,  the  historian,  i.  200. 

2fanometanism,  i.  271. 

Maine,  Sir  Henry,  his  treatise  on  An- 
cient Law,  i.  52,  63,  66. 

Maine,  not  connected  with  the  voyage 
of  Thorflnn,  i.  181. 

Maixe,  or  Indian  com,  i.  27 ;  cultivated 
by  irrigation,  i.  83;  reproductive 
power  of,  in  Mexico,  i.  106 ;  noticed 
bv  Leif  in  Vinland,  1. 182. 

Major,  R.  H.,  on  the  monastery  of  St. 
Olaus,  L  159 ;  his  work  on  the  vov- 
ages  of  the  Zeno  brothers,  i.  226; 
and  Antonio  Zeno's  letters,  i.  231; 
and  Zahrtmann*8  criticism  of  Zeno^s 
narrative,  L  237  ;  an  error  of,  i.  240 ; 
and  6unnbjom*s  Skerries,  i.  242 ;  an 
authority  on  the  Portuguese  voy- 
ages, i.  321 ;  and  CoIumbus^s  letter 
to  Sanchez,  L  450. 

Malays,  riot  to  destroy  Bequeira,  iL 
18^ 

Maldouado,  Alonzo  de,  enters  into  an 
agreement  with  Las  Casas,  ii.  467. 

Mallery,  Oarrick,  on  Indian  inscrip- 
tions, L  215. 

Manco  Capac  Tupanqui,  made  Inca, 
ii.  407 ;  plans  an  insurrection,  ii. 
410 :  defeated,  ii.  411, 413 ;  his  death, 
iL  424. 

Mandans,  i.  40  -  42  ;  their  circular 
houses,  i.  79-81 ;  and  adobe  houses, 
i.  84,  85;  once  a  mound-building 
people,  i.  146.   See  aUo  Minnitarees. 

Mandeville,  Sir  John,  source  of  his 


deaeriDtiona  of  IndiA  and  (^ithay,  i. 
290 ;  Ida  atonr  of  peculiar  savages 
in  Asia,  L  472 ;  hia  account  of  tbi 
Fountain  of  Tooth,  iL  486. 

Mapa.    See  Geography. 

Marchena,  Antonio  de,  and  Joan  FUei, 
i.  412 ;  sails  with  Columbas,  L  46S. 

Marcos,  Fray,  hia  search  for  the  Beveo 
Cities,  ii.  608 ;  retreat  of,  after  the 
murder  of  Kstevinico,  iL  606;  8tm 
in  Zulii  tradition^  U.  607. 

Marcou,  Professor  Jules,  his  derivation 
of  the  name  **  America,'*  ii.  162. 

Margarite,  Pedro,  sails  with  Columbas, 
L  4C3 ;  left  to  explore  Cibao,  i.  4C8 ; 
deserts  Columbus  and  tries  to  ndn 
him,  i.  479,  480. 

Mariana,  his  estinmte  of  the  popoJa- 
tion  of  Granada,  the  city,  L  96. 

Marignolli,  Giovanni,  hia  travels  In 
A^,  L  291. 

Mariposa  grove,  California,  its  giant 
treea  once  common  in  Bun^M,  L 
19. 

Markham,  Clements,  hia  list  of  the 
Incas,  ii.  301 ;  on  the  Pirua  dynas- 
ty, iL  303 ;  on  Ciesa  de  Leon,  ii. 
304-306  :  on  Garcilasao  de  la  Vega, 
ii.  307,  308 ;  on  the  ruins  of  Sscsa- 
huaman  hill,  ii.  310 ;  on  esrly  cul- 
ture in  Peru,  ii.  312 ;  on  human  sac- 
rifices in  Peru,  ii.  342 ;  his  trsnsls- 
ticn  of  tlie  Inca  drama  "  OUanta  '* 
cited,  ii.  363;  calls  Ruia  the  fint 
man  to  cross  the  equator  on  the  Pa- 
cific, ii.  392  ;  on  the  death  of  Manco 
the  Inca,  iL  426. 

Markland,  seen  by  Leif,  L  164;  ani- 
mals in,  i.  180 ;  position  of ,  L  20& 
See  also  Vinlsnd. 

Marquette,  reaches  the  Mississippi,  iL 

Marriage,  primitive,  i.  66 ;  growth  of, 
L  62 ;  easily  terminated  among  lu- 
dians,  L  64  ;  among  the  Zofiic,  L  89; 
among  the  Asteca,  L  123 ;  in  Peni, 
ii.  351. 

Martin  V.,  L  325. 

Martinez  Fernando,  consulta  Tosca- 
nelli  in  behalf  of  Alfonso  V.  ccnceni- 
ing  a  route  to  India,  L  356,  356. 

Martyr,  Peter,  describes  the  Caribbees 
or  Canibsles,  L  465 ;  his  error  coo- 
ceming  Cabot,  ii.  15 ;  interest  in  bit 
book,  u.  36 ;  describes  the  voyage  of 
Pinzon  around  Cuba,  ii.  69. 

Maskoki  famUy  of  tribes,  L  42. 

Master  Joseph,  the  physicist,  i.  378. 

Matanzas  Inlet,  massacres  of  Frmch 
at,  ii.  617,  618. 

Maurer,  K. ,  his  work  on  the  eonversioD 
of  the  ScandinaviAu  people,  i.  164. 

Maxixcatzin,  believea  the  epaniardi 
gods,  ii.  262. 

Mayas,  their  approach  toward  civOi- 
aation,  L  83 ;  social  development  of, 
L  131-136 ;  picture-writinf  of,  L  ]33i 


INDEX. 


619 


and  the  ilaba  of  Uxmal,  i.  135 ;  and 
Palenaue,  i.  136 ;  their  culture  cloeely 
related  to  Mexican,  i.  139;  defeat 
the  Snuiiarda,  ii.  241. 

Medici,  Lorenxo  de\  Yeepuclua'a  letter 
in  1503  to,  IL  108-110. 

Medicine-men.  i.  119. 

Medina-Celi,  duke  of,  propooes  to  fur- 
niiih  ships  for  Columbus,  i.  408 ;  Isa- 
bella withholds  her  consent,  i.  409. 

Mediterranean,  the  word  first  used,  L 
318. 

Mela,  Pomponius,  his  geographical  the- 
ories, L  303,  394  ;  his  hafluence,  i. 
305 ;  his  theory  of  the  Ato  sones.  i. 
307  ;  on  Taprobane,  i.  308 ;  his  influ- 
ence in  Bpain,  i.  317 ;  effect  of  the 
Portuguese  discoveries  on  histheo-* 
ries,  r.  329,  333  ;  his  influence  on 
Orontius  Finspus,  ii.  126;  his  anti- 
podid  world,  ii.  127. 

Mendoxa,  archbishop  of  Toledo,  fa- 
vours Columbus,  i.  413. 

Mendoxa,  Andrea  Hurtado  de,  marquis 
of  Ca&ete,  ruler  in  Peru,  ii.  421. 

Mendoxa.  Lids  de,  captain  of  the  Vic- 
toria, ii.  192 ;  in  open  mutiny  against 
Magellan,  ii.  196:  sUbbed,  U.  197. 

Menendes  de  Aviles,  Pedro,  his  expe- 
dition against  Fort  Caroline,  U.  513- 
516;  murders  the  French  prisoners 
at  Matanzas  lulet,  ii.  517,  518 ;  es- 
capes the  massacre  by  Gourgues,  ii. 
621. 

Mercator,  Gerard,  first  gives  the  name 
*^  America  **  to  both  continents  on 
his  map  in  1541,  ii.  152. 

Mesquita,  Alvaro  de,  Magellan's  cous- 
in, overpowered  by  the  mutineers, 
ii.  196.  ^ 

Metals,  used  for  tools,  i.  30. 

Metz,  Dr.,  i.  8;  discovers  palnoliths 
in  Ohio,  i.  9. 

Mexican  confederacv,  formation  of, 
ii.  224 ;  Aztec  chiefs-of-men  militsjry 
commanders  of,  ii.  224 ;  territory 
included  in,  ii.  226 ;  and  the  hostile 
TIsKcalans,  ii.  227  ;  and  the  empire 
of  the  Incas,  ii.  326.  8te  also  Axteo 
Confederacy. 

Mexicans  and  Iroquois  of  same  "  red  ** 
race,  i.  22-24 ;  reason  for  their  devel- 
opment, i.  29 ;  development  of  the 
family  among,  i.  63 ;  civilization  of,  i. 
101 ;  of  to-day,  i.  102 ;  literature  on, 
i.  102;  Mr.  B:tndelier*s  researches, 
i.  103 ;  their  clans  and  phratries,  i. 
106,  108 ;  of  a  common  stock  with 
the  Mayas,  i.  131 ;  their  culture  un- 
related to  that  of  Eiqrpt,  i.  147 ;  their 
dress,  ii.  266;  habits,  ii.  267 ;  food, 
ii.  2C8 ;  cannibaUsm  of,  ii.  268,  2G9 ; 
their  drinks,  ii.  270;  markets,  ii. 
270 ;  punishment  of  crime,  ii.  271 ; 
barber  shops,  temple,  ii.  271  ;  hu- 
man sacrifices,  iL  272,  273  ;  their 
brave  defence  of  the  city,  ii.  289; 


compared  with  Peruvians,  ii.  360- 
364.    See  also  Aztecs ;  Nabuas. 

Mexico,  the  city,  founded  in  1325,  1. 
83 ;  a  great  pueblo,  L  97 ;  divided 
into  four  quarters,  i.  108 ;  social  de- 
velopment of,  i.  130 ;  carving  on  the 
houses  in,  i.  139 ;  founded,  ii.  221 ; 
the  name,  ii.  222 ;  as  a  stronghold, 
ii.  222 ;  under  the  first  four  ''  chiefs- 
of-men,"  iL  223;  joins  with  Tezcuco 
to  overthrow  Azcaputsaico,  ii.  224 ; 
march  of  Cortes  to,  ii.  250:  ita 
causeways,  ii.  262 ;  houses,  ii.  263 ; 
population,  ii.  264 ;  four  wards,  iL 
266 ;  the  temple,  ii.  271  ;  the  place 
of  skulls,  ii.  273;  Cortes  received 
into,  ii.  274 ;  retreat  of  Cortes  from, 
ii.  286 ;  doomed,  iL  288 ;  taken  by 
Cortes,  ii.  289. 

Mexico,  the  country,  not  the  Fusang 
discovered  by  the  Chinese,  L  148 ; 
pre-historic,  ii.  216;  the  conquest 
of,  aided  by  the  Mexican  belief  in 
QuetzalcoaU,  U.  237,  238 ;  how  the 
Spanish  conquest  should  be  regard- 
ed, U.  290-293. 

Migration,  successive  waves  of,  i.  15. 

Milton,  and  the  Arimaspians,  i.  287. 

Minnesota,  glacial  man  In,  i.  7. 

Minnitarees,  on  the  upper  Missouri,  i. 
40,  41. 

Mississippi,  Pleistocene  men  and  mam- 
mals in  the  valley  of,  i.  13 ;  discov- 
ery of,  ii.  487  ;  French  explorers  on, 
ii.  632,  633 ;  La  Salle  descends,  ii. 
636. 

Blissouri  river,  circular  houses  of  the 
Mandans  on,  L  81. 

Mitimaes,  military  cotooies  In  Peru, 
ii.  3:i0,  331. 

MGbius,  his  work  on  Ari  Frddhi,  L 
201. 

Mohawks,  a  tribe  of  the  Iroquois,  i. 
45;  invincible  among  red  men,  L 
46;  exterminate  the  Eries,  i.  46; 
meaning  of  their  name,  i.  51 ;  mi- 
grate to  Canada,  i.  74 ;  their  prow- 
ess, i.  84 ;  their  seniority  in  the  Iro- 
quois confederacy,  i.  104;  their 
manner  of  collecting  tribute,  i. 
115. 

Mohegan  tribe,  phratry  and  clan 
names  of,  i.  71. 

Molucca  islands,  first  rumours  of,  i. 
292  ;   the  Portuguese  visit,  ii.  183  ; 
Serrano's  ship  wrecked  at,  iL  187  ; 
Magellan    tliinks    they    belong   to 
Spain,  ii.  188 ;   his  ships  reach,  ii. 
207  ;  Congress  of  Badsjos  to  settle 
the  ownership  of,  ii.  488 ;  ceded  to 
Portugal,  ii.  489. 
I  Mommsen,  on  the  Roman  custom  of 
!     appeasing  "  Father  Tiber,"  i.  121 . 
:  Money,  in  relation  to  cattle,  iL  317 ; 
none  in  Peru,  ii.  360. 

Mongols,  their  conquests,  i.  277 ;  vis- 
ited by  Franciscan  monks,  L  377, 


620 


INDEX. 


278;  their  dynaaty  OTerthrown,  L 
291. 

Montejo,  Franclaco  de,  in  Orf|alTa*s 
expedition,  iL  213 ;  Gortet  eenda 
himtoBpftin,  ii.  246. 

Montedno,  Antonio,  hit  great  lennona 
on  ilaTerr,  ii.  446;  goes  to  BUng 
Ferdinand,  ii.  448;  tatereata  I«a 
Caaaa,  U.  448,  449 ;  with  Ayllon  on 
the  Jamea  river,  iL  491. 

Vontezuma  II.,  aon  of  Azayacatl, 
chief -of -men,  and  military  com- 
mander of  the  Mexican  conf eideracy, 
hia  people,  i.  36 ;  his  poaition  mia- 
nnderatood  by  the  Bpaniarda,  i.  98 ; 
hia  "empire,^*  i.  1(H;  hia  rank  aa 
tUcatecuhtU,  i.  Ill,  114 ;  Morgan*a 
Tiew  of,  {.  115 ;  social  statna  of,  i. 
130;  hia  relativea,  U.  224 ;  political 
aittuition  at  the  time  of,  ii.  226, 227 ; 
ilrat  heaia  of  white  men,  ii.  228, 
229;  hia  table,  iL  268 ;  waa  a  priest- 
commander,  iL  277 ;  Gortea  plana  to 
capture  him,  iL  279 ;  a  priaonar,  iL 
280;  depoaed,  iL285;  his  death,  U. 
286;  compared  with  the  Incaa  of 
Peru,  ii.  325. 

"  Montezuma's  Dinner,"  Mr.  Mor* 
gan's  essay,  L  126;  Andrew  Lang 
on,  L  128. 

Moors,  in  Spain,  ii.  556. 

Moquis,  of  Arizona,  L  82 ;  their  poeb- 
los,  L  93. 

Morgan,  Lewis,  on  drilisation,  L  24 ; 
auggests  pottery  to  distinguish  bar- 
barism from  saTagerv,  i.  25 ;  his  clas- 
aification  discussed,  L  82, 36 ;  his  evi- 
dence on  reckoning  kinship  through 
females,  L  55 ;  on  Indian  houses,  L 
65 ;  adopted  $y  the  Senecaa,  i.  73 ; 
on  the  Peruvians  and  Oreeka,  L  83 ; 
un  a  township  aa  the  unit  of  a  politi- 
cal system,  L  100 ;  his  explanation 
of  errors  in  Spanish  narrativea,  i. 
102 ;  on  the  population  of  Mexico,  L 
106;  and  Montezuma,  L  115;  hia 
rules  for  judging  Spanish  historians, 
L  125;  and  **  Montezuma*s  Dinner," 
L  126 ;  disregards  hia  own  rules,  L 
126;  Andrew  Lang's  criticism  of, 
L  128;  his  views  corroborated,  i. 
138 ;  theory  on  the  mound-builders, 
i.  142.  « 

Moriscoea,  Christian  Moora,  rebellion 
of,  ii.  661 ;  expelled  from  Spain,  and 
the  terrible  conaequencea,  li.  562. 

Morley,  John,  on  moral  obligations, 
and  the  influence  of  Baynal's  writ- 
ings, U.  456. 

Mormons,  their  theory  of  aborigines 
in  America,  i.  3 ;  errors  in  the  Book 
of  Mormon  on  pre  •  Golumbian 
America,  L  179. 

Monp,  Edward,  hia  diaeoveriea  in 
shell- mounds,  L  6. 

Mt>rtou,  Thomaa,  of  Merrjrroount,  on 
Ue  extant  of  the  continent,  u.  526. 


Moacoao,  Loia  de,  in  eoiBmaiid  allar 
the  death  of  Soto,  iL  510. 

Moand-Build«ra,  made  Uxda  of  oopper, 
L  aO;  poaaiUe  remnant  of,  L  42; 
list  of  works  on,  L  140,  141 ;  Mr. 
Morgan'a  theoiy  of ,  L  142;  rtUca 
of,  at  Cambridge  and  at  Wadiing- 
ton,  L  144;  not  Aateca  or  &tis, 
bat  peoplea  in  the  lower  atatna  of 
barbariam,  L  144;  Cherokeea  aad 
Bhawneea,  L  144, 146. 

Mounda,  of  the  Ohio  valley,  Catlin*a 
theory  of ,  L  41 ;  date  of  their  for- 
mation, L  141,  142  ;  made  by  the 
Gheroksea,  Shawneea,  and  Lenapa, 
L146. 

Moya,  Marchloneaa  of,  iHend  of  Co- 
lumbua,  i.  416. 

MiUler,  J.  O.,  on  aerpent  wonUp,  L 
110. 

MiUler,  Max,  forelgnera  called  by  bar* 
barlana  **  beaven-baratera,"  i.  432. 

Milnater,  Sebastian,  Amarica  on  hia 
map,  it  149. 

**  Mundua  Kovna,**  translation  of  Ves- 

Euchis's  letter  of  1503,  ii.  109,  111 ; 
iterest    in,  iL    113;   the  country 
called,  equivalent  to  Brazil,  iL  146. 
See  also  New  World. 
Music,  ancient  Kahuatl,  ii.  469, 470. 

NadailUc,  i.  93. 

Nahuas,  of  Mexico,  L  82 ;  early  tribea 
in  Mexico,  ii.  216 ;  invade  Anihuac, 
or  Mexico,  219 ;  their  love  of  flow- 
ers, iL  265;  their  melodies,  iL  469. 
See  also  Aztecs ;  Mexicans. 

Nakuk  Pech,  his  history  of  the  Span- 
ish con<}uest,  L  138.       « 

Nansen,  his  *'  First  Croaaing  of  Graea- 
hmd,"  L  884. 

Narraganaetta,  L  43. 

Narvaez,  Pinfllo  de,  aent  to  arrest 
Cortes,  ii.  282 ;  hia  expediUon  in 
1528,  ii.  501. 

Nationality,  featorea  of  incipient,  iL 
332. 

Kavarrete,  his  "  Coleccion  de  loa  via- 
ges  y  descubrimientoa,**  etc,  i.  342 ; 
misunderstands  Tespuctus,  ii.  55. 

Navigation,  difficultiea  of,  L  312-316. 

Nebraska,  Pawneea  of  the  Platte  val- 
ley, i.  42. 

Neatorian  misaionariea  in  Asia,  L  268. 

'*  Neutral  Nation,"  the  Attiwanda- 
rons,  L  44. 

Newell,  W.  W.,  his  work  in  ethnolofy, 
i.  52. 

New  England,  founded  by  deacendanta 
of  Northmen,  i.  152 ;  the  colonists 
under  Winthrop,  i.  153. 

Newfoundland  flsberiea  frequented  by 
Breton,  Basque,  and  Portuguese 
aailors,  iL  22;  Oomara's  account 
of,  as  given  by  Eden,  ii.  22. 

New  Merioo,  pueblos  in  GhaooCaSoik 
L91. 


INDEX. 


621 


Vewport,  the  mOl  at.  1.  21& 

New  Worldf  Irving^e  error  uid  the 

particular  region  known  aa,  i.  444  ; 

the  phrase  unknown  to  Columbus 

or  to  his  times,  i.  616 ;  Vespucius 

writes  to  Lorenxo  de*  Medici  of,  ii. 

108;  on  Ruysch*s  map  in  1508,  ii. 

114  ;  original  meaning  of,  ii.  117 ; 

and  Vespucius,  iL  119 ;  on  the  globe 

of  flnsBus,  ii.    122 ;   conceived   as 

south  of  the  equator,  ii.  148 ;  be- 
comes the  western  world,  ii.  164; 

becomes  a  separate  New  World,  ii. 

177.    See  also  "  Mundus  Novus." 
New  York  harbour,  aspect  in  Oladal 

period  of,  i.  9. 
Nicaragua,  Oil  Gonzalez  DivOa  on  the 

coast  of,  ii.  389. 
Nicollet,  Jean,  reaches  the  Wisconsin 

river,  ii.  632. 
Nicuesa,  Diego  de,  a  province  created 

for,  IL  367  ;  his  dispute  with  Ojeda, 

ii.  367  ;  his  sufferings  at  Nombre  de 

Dies,  ii.  371  ;  his  end,  ii.  372. 
Nikulas  Baemundsson,  Leif  mentioned 

in  his  essay,  i.  203. 
NiSa,  the  smallest  of  Columbus^s  fleet, 

i.  420. 
Ni2o,   Pero   Alonso,   his  voyage  in 

1499,  U.  96. 
Nombre  de  DIos,  sufferings  of  Nicuesa 

at,  ii.  371. 
Norombega,  on  Lok*s  map  in  1582,  ii. 

623 ;    tlie  name,  iL  647.    See  also 

Norumbega. 
North  Carolina,  Tuscaroras  In,  i.  45. 
Northmen,  their  discovery  of  America, 

L  151  ;  converted  to  Christianity,  i. 

163;  Ortelius  in  1606  writes  on,  L 

394.    See  aUo  Vikings. 
Northwest  Passage,  search  for,  ii.  490 ; 
'    desire  for,  ii.  491 ;  voyages  of  Davis, 

Barents,    Hudson,   ana   Baffin,  il. 

&16-^2. 
Norton,   C.    E.,  version   of  Dante*s 

**  Vito  Nuova  "  mentioned,  ii.  38. 
Norumbega,  situation  of,  according  to 

Professor  Horsford,  L  220.   See  also 

Norombega. 
Nova  Scotia,  held  by  Dr.  Storm  to  be 

the  same  as  Vinland,  i.  181. 
Nuttall,  Mrs.  Zelia,  on  Mexican  head- 
dress, iL  278. 

Odoric,  of  Pordencne,  risita  Asia,  L 
290;  and  Sir  John  Mandeville,  L 
290. 

Odyssey,  L  130.  See  also  Homeric 
Poems. 

Ohio,  traces  of  early  man  In,  L  9. 

OJeda,  Alonso  de  (1),  embarks  with 
Columbus,  L  463 ;  captures  Caonabo, 
L  482;  Vespucius  sails  with,  ii.  31 ; 
his  testimony  in  Diego  Columbus^s 
rait  against  the  crown,  ii.  60 ;  Ves- 
podas  Mils  in  1499  with,  U.  93 ;  a 
j^NviuN  OTMlod  for,  IL  867 ;  dis- 


Stes  with  Nicuesa  over  the  boun- 
ry  to  his  province,  IL  867;  goes 
ashore  for  davea  and  nearly  loses 
his  lif e,  U  368  ;  founds  San  Sebaa- 
tian,  ii.  368 ;  his  death.  U.  369. 

Ojeda,  Alonso  de  (2),  and  the  destmo- 
tiou  of  the  colony  of  Las  Casas,  ii, 
460, 461. 

Olid,  Crist6val  de,  captures  Oil  Oona^ 
lex  DdviU,  U.  390. 

Oliva,  Peres  de,  called  by  Harrisse  the 
author  of  "  Vita  dell*  Ammiraglio,** 
L  340. 

Ollanta,  an  Inca  drama,  ii.  363. 

OndegMTdo,  Polo  de,  describes  Peru- 
vian couriers,  IL  328 ;  on  the  killing 
of  animals  in  Peru,  ii.  369. 

Ophir,  Columbus  believes  Hispanlola 
to  be,  L  484. 

Ordericus  Vitalis,  his  reference  to  Fin- 
land, L  209. 

Orellana,  Francisco  de,  descends  the 
Amason,  ii.  414. 

Orgo&es,  Rodrigo  de,  wins,  a  victory 
over  Pizarro,  ii.  412. 

Orinoco,  appearance  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  1.  492. 

Ortelius,  Abraham,  writes  in  1606  on 
the  Northmen,  i.  394. 

OsweKO  river,  tribes  at  the  mouth  of. 
L45. 

Otto  III.  of  Germany,  and  the  papacy, 
i.  258. 

Otumba,  battle  of,  II.  287. 

Ovando,  Nicolas  de,  appointed  gov- 
ernor of  Hispanlola,  i.  603 ;  his  great 
fleet  swamped,  i.  607 ;  his  delay  in 
saving  Columbus  at  Jamaica,  i.  612 ; 
his  character  and  abilities,  ii.  436; 
his  massacre  of  Indians  at  Slaragua, 
ii.  436 ;  returns  to  Spain,  iL  446. 

Oviedo,  Gonsalvo  Hernandez  de,  de- 
clares Col  ambus  not  the  discoverer 
of  Honduras,  ii.  70 ;  on  the  Crimea 
of  Pedrarias  Divila,  ii.  377  ;  comes 
out  to  Darien,  iL  378. 

Pachacamac,  Peruvian  deity,  IL  338  ; 
his  temple  desecrated  by  the  Span- 
iards, ii.  403. 

Pacific,  Magellan  enters,  Ii.  200. 

Palenque,  M.  de  Waldeck's  drawings 
at,  L  134 ;  the  age  of  the  ruins,  L 
136;  Mr.  Lang  on  the  ruins  at,  L 
136. 

Palos,  town  of,  assessed  to  equip  Co- 
lumbus*s  ships,  L  418, 419 ;  Columbus 
returns  to,  i.  441. 

Panama,  founded  byPedrarlaa,  il.  887. 

Papacy,  Alexander  VI.  *s  bulls  and  the 
temporal  power  of,  as  given  in  the 
"  Donation  of  Constanttne,**  L  46&- 
468.. 

Parias,  substituted  for  Larlab  in  the 
Latin  version  of  Vespucius*s  letter, 
iL  42, 54  ;  on  the  globe  of  Flmeoa. 
iL126. 


b^-i 


622 


notanan,  FtmkIb,  on  ladiaa  cont,  L 
28,  41 ;  Mm  hi*U>ri*n,  iL  530L 

Paai^ualigo,  Loruuto,  deacribc*  boooun 
paid  to  Cabot,  ii.  6 ;  bia  aoooynt  of 
CaboC^a  voyage,  iL  9. 

Patagooiaua,  it.  198. 

Pawneca,  in  Nebraska,  L  42. 

Fearl  Coaat,  Columbua  prorad  to  be 
the  diacoTerer  of,  ii.  50. 

Pears,  Mr.,  on  tba  affect  ol  thm  Fboitli 
CruMde,  i.  274. 

Piedrariaa  Divila,  gOTunor  of  Terra 
Pirma,  ii.  377 ;  jealoua  of  Balboa,  iL 
37S;  rumour  that  he  bad  boen  aoper- 
aeded,  ii.  380 ;  jmta  BaUwa  to  death, 
iL  383 ;  Lope  da  Soaa  to  anpeiaede, 
ii.  386;  louDda  Panama,  L  387; 
left  in  office,  ii.  387  ;  triea  to  arraat 
QU  Goosalea  Divila,  U.  389;  puta 
Cordova  to  death,  iL  380 ;  diea,  iL 
3»2L 

Fegolotti,  Franceaoo,  hit  guide  for 
traveUexa  going  to  China,  L  S90, 
291. 

PemgiUlo,  on  Laa  Caaaa  aa  an 
ity,  i.  337. 

Fenutrelo,  Bvthol<nnew,  hi* 
to  Porto  Souto,  and  hi*  rabbit.  L 
322  ;  hia  later  life  and  death,  i  SJS; 
bia  daughter  Philippa  maiiiea  Co- 
lumbua, i.  352, 353. 

Parry,  T.  S.,  on  stories  told  by  Kte- 
siai»,  Pliny,  and  Mandeville.  u  IStl 

Peru,  domeaticated  animals  in.  u  27  : 
potato  in,  L  29 ;  state  oi  cirilinticn 
in,  L  33,  38  ;  agriculture  in,  L  45 : 
ludiana  of,  L  82  ;  compared  with 
Greeks,  L  83;  Incaa  of,  iL  STl : 
historic  period  of,  iL  302 :  erideoon 
of  early  culture  in,  ii.  oil.  312 ;  no 
true  pastoral  life  in,  ii.  SIS ;  roads 
In,  U.327:  bridKce,iL330;  miliury 
colonies  in,  ii.  330 ;  incipient  aaticci- 
ality  in,  ii.  332 ;  industrial  orirani> 
sation  in,  iL  352 ;  allotment  of  lands 
in,  Ii.  354  ;  an  illustratirB  of  iroveru- 
ment  socialism.  iL  355 ;  Herbert 
SptHicer  on,  ii.  356 ;  cyvlopean  wxjrka 
in,  U.  357,  35S;  airrktalturv  in.  iL 
S8^;  killing  of  animaU  in.  iL  359: 
arts  and  barter,  iL  380:  ^neral 
aummary  of  the  cuttnre  in.  u.  ^I  : 
conquert  of,  iL  3fii ;  e«i|iin  of  the 
name,  ii.  3S6 ;  the  civil  war  IwCvreen 
Atahualpa  uid  Huaarar,  ii.  3^ ; 
Pisarro  arrivea  in,  iL  3^  :  npristnic 
of,  ii.  410  ;  Spanish  civil  arar  in,  iL 
412 :  rebeUkm  of  Gonsalo  Fixamv 
ii.  418 ;  why  the  coo^uast  ar«s  easy, 
ii.  422. 

Ptouviana,  statua  of,  iL  29IS:  their 
manner  of  reckortitfr,  fi.  29^-3l\^: 
their  btti]dins»,  iL  302;  and  S&'oahaa- 
man  hill,  iL  304;  their  dcmeatic  an- 
taaals,  iL  311 ;  not  trahr  civiSaed.  iL 
ayi4;  their  tools,  iL  315;  a 


veloped,  fL  S19 ;  the  four  tribes,  fl. 
319;  tfaetr  raticioo,  &  338 ;  aui<-in» 
shippers,  iL  340 ;  used  the  solar  yesr, 
iL  ^^0;  their  maiw  beer,  iL  340; 
their  aacrtficea,  it  340-342;  thaif 
priesthood,  U.  342 ;  their  horial  ens- 
toma,  U.  3i3:  their  Teetala  of  the 
sun,  iL  314,  3i5 ;  their  aodal  statns, 
ii.  347 ;  and  Mexicans,  iL  347  ;  prae- 
taaed  monoftamy,  iL  %1 ;  monlity 
amoofr,  ii.  ^1,  3S2;  indnatrial  sys- 
tem of,  iL  352-355 ;  humaneness  of, 
ii.  982 ;  compared  with  Mezicaas,  iL 
3eO-34>4 ;  their  fear  of  horaes,  ti.  400; 
why  they  did  not  reaiat  the  8paa- 
iarda,  ii.  422. 

Philesius  ToegeaigeniL  ^eeBiagmoB, 
Matthiaa. 

Philip  n.,  king  of  Spain,  refuwij  to 
raii«  money  by  permitting  daveiT, 
iL  480 ;  approrec  ci  the  mnrdera  Mr 
Menendea,  iL  519 ;  aeizea  Portngal, 
iL560. 

Philippine  islander  iL  304. 

Pbcmician^.  said  to  have  cirramnavi* 
pued  Africa.  L  298 ;  Grote  and  Sir 
G.  C.  Lewis  on  tl»e  voyage,  i.  299. 

Phratries  formed  from  the  clan,  i.  61; 
origin  and  structure  of,  L  70 ;  fnne- 
tioci  of,  L  71 :  of  the  Axtec  tribea,  L 
Ift^:  amrr.^  Romans  and  early  Eag> 
bsh.  L  110 ;  the  Mexican  rapTains  <rf, 
L  115. 

Pifafetts.  Antonio,  his  jooraal  of  Mi^ 

S Han's  expedition,  iL  193:  on  tiis 
ath  of  MageOan.  iL  2(«.  207. 

POgrima,  at  Plymouth,  had  cattle  as 
early  as  1623,  L  218. 

Pineda,  Alvarez  de,  diacorer*  the  Mis- 
siasippi,  iL  487. 

PSnkerton,  John,  on  the  royngea  of  tha 
Zeno  brc»tl)ers,  L  226l 

Pinotl,  Mootezuma^s  tax  -  gatherer, 
first  neets  Spaniarda,  iL  2:9L 

Pinta,  the  second  in  size  of  Colnm- 
bos^s  fleet,  L  420 ;  her  rudder  bro> 
ken,  L  421. 

Pinaoo,  Martin  Alonzo,  meeta  Cohnn- 
buJ^  L  411 :  belpa  equip  Colnmbaa*fe 
•hipa,  L  420;  commander  of  the 
Pinta,  L  420 ;  deaerta  Coinmbaa,  L 
435,  43C;  explains  his  condnct,  L 
458,  439;  hia  final  tzeaeherr  and 
death,  L  442. 

Pinzoo,  Ticente  TaiSex,  brother  of 
Martin,  commander  of  tbe  Nula,  L 
420 ;  his  bad  reckoninfr.  L  440  ^pro> 
mocos  tbe  edicta  of  1496  and  1497,  L 
4^  4^^ ;  voyage  of,  and  Solis,  B. 
€4 ;  evidence  that  it  waa  in  1497  and 
Dot  in  1506,  ii.  67 ;  Peter  Martyr's 
testimony.  iL  69 ;  hia  seeood  voyage 
in  1499,  iL  95 ;  royage  pUnned  for 
15ii6s  iL  173;  voyage  with  8c^ 
1508-9,  iL  176 ;  ennobled,  iL  I7& 

Plnin  djuastr,  iL  XX 


INDEX. 


628 


FranelicOf  his  ability  and  character, 
ii.  395 ;  and  Almagro,  ii.  396 ;  vitiita 
Atahualpa,  ii.  400 ;  at  the  temple  of 
Pachacamac,  ii.  403 ;  sent  to  Spain 
with  gold  for  the  emperor,  ii.  404 ; 
returns  to  Peru,  ii.  408 ;  beaieged  in 
Cuzco,  ii.  411  ;  orders  the  execution 
of  Almagro,  ii.  412;  his  return  to 
Spain  and  death,  ii.  413. 

Pizarro,  Francisco,  left  in  command 
of  Ojeda's  ships,  ii.  308 ;  and  Balboa, 
ii.  382,  383 ;  Ms  bhrth  and  early  ca- 
reer, ii.  385 ;  Iiis  expedition  to  Peru, 
ii.  391 ;  his  decision  at  Oallo  to  push 
forward,  ii.  393 ;  discovers  Peru,  and 
carries  the  news  to  Spain,  ii.  ^M, 
395 ;  the  brothers,  ii.  395 ;  ajrrives  iu 
Peru,  ii.  398 ;  at  Caxamarca,  ii.  400; 
captures  Atahualpa,  ii.  402 ;  and  puts 
him  to  death,  ii.  406 ;  bunib  Chalcu- 
chima  at  the  stake,  ii.  406 ;  proclaims 
Manco  Inca  and  enters  Cuzco,  ii. 
407;  news  of  his  conquest  reaches 
Spain,  ii.  408 ;  founds  Lima,  ii.  408  ; 
appointed  governor  of  "New  Cas* 
trie,"  U.  408;  unpolitic,  iU  416;  a»- 
sassinated,  ii.  417. 

Pizarro,  Gonsalo,  brother  of  Francisco, 
IL  396 ;  his  expedition  to  the  Ama- 
son,  ii.  414  ;  his  return  to  Quito,  ii. 
416;  rebellion  of,  ii.  418;  defeat 
and  death,  ii.  419-421;  plans  to  make 
himself  king,  ii.  474. 

Pizarro,  Juan,  brother  of  Francisco, 
U.  396;  deathof,  ii.  411. 

Pleistocene  age,  i.  4 ;  antiquity  of.  i. 
6 ;  man  in,  I.  12. 

Pliny,  and  the  voyages  of  Honno  and 
Eudoxus,  i.  302 ;  his  idea  of  savages, 
i.328. 

Pliocene  age,  human  behigs  In,  i.  11. 

Plutarch,  on  the  rex  sacrorum,  1. 
113. 

Po,  Fernando,  crosses  the  equator,  i. 
326. 

Pocahontas,  her  visit  to  London  in 
1616,  i.  98. 

Polo,  Marco,  i.  263;  visits  Chhia,  I. 
281 ;  enters  the  service  of  Kublai 
Khan,  i.  282 ;  his  return  by  sea  to 
Venice,  L  282,  283;  writes  his  book 
in  prison  at  Qenoa,  i.  284 ;  his  know- 
ledge of  geography,  i.  285 ;  his  influ- 
ence, i.  285;  and  Prester  John,  i. 
286;  his  description  of  Cathay,  i. 
858-360  ;  '*  Messer  Marco  Milione," 
i.  300;  and  the  Bahamas,  i.  433. 

Polo,  Nicold  and  Maffeo,  visit  Kublai 
Khan,  i.  280;  their  return,  i.  282, 
283. 

Polyg^^my,  and  the  origin  of  the  patri- 
archal family,  i.  C2. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  Juan,  sails  with  Co- 
lumbus, i.  464 ;  Florida  mapped  years 
before  his  explorations,  ii.  79 ;  his 
▼oyaoe  to  the  coast  of  Florida,  ii. 


IST 


Porto  Santo,  island  of,  rabbits  on,  L 
322;  Columbus  makes  his  home 
there,  i.  354. 

Portuguese,  they  try  to  reach  Asia  bj 
sailing  around  Africa,  i.  296 ;  their 
voyages  on  the  African  coast,  i.  322- 
327 ;  granted  heathen  countries  by 
the  pope,  i.  324 ;  chagrin  at  Colum- 
bus's discoveries,  i.  396 ;  manner  of 
encouraging  discoverers,  i.  416; 
claim  the  Indies,  i.  453 ;  rights  un- 
der the  treaty  of  Tordesillas,  i.  469 ; 
found  a  colony  on  Cape  Breton  is- 
land, ii.  21 ;  take  possession  of  Bra- 
zil, ii.  97;  their  conquests  in  the 
East  Indies,  ii.  181,  182;  lose  the 
Portup:uese  Inuies,  ii.  660. 

Posidonius,  and  the  voyages  of  Eu- 
doxus, i.  302 ;  estimates  the  circuoH 
ference  of  the  earth,  i.  374. 

Potato,  in  Peru,  i.  29 ;  as  evidence  of 
early  culture  in  Peru,  IL  312 ;  his- 
tory of,  U.  312-314. 

Pottery,  distinguishing  barbarism 
from  savagery,  i.  26 ;  origin  of,  i.  26 ; 
tribes  that  made  pottery,  L  48. 

Powhatans,  i.  43. 

Prescott,  W.  H.,  on  the  inhabitants  of 
the  pueblos,  i.  91 ;  on  Cortes,  i.  94 ; 
on  Aztec  human  sacrifice,  i.  120 ;  on 
Columbus's  arms,  and  his  reception 
at  B:ircelona,  i.  44i3 ;  attributes  work 
by  Ciezr  de  Leon  to  Sirmiento,  iL 
306 ;  on  human  sacrifices  in  Peru,  ii. 
^2;  on  Pizarro's  determination  at 
QMo  to  go  forward,  ii.  393. 

Prester  John,  and  his  kingdom  in  the 
East,  i.  286;  John  IL  of  Portugal 
tries  to  find,  i.  331. 

Priesthood,  of  the  Aztecs,  1.  119;  of 
the  Peruvians,  ii.  342. 

Probamag^  interrogatories  and  an- 
swers relating  to  Columbus's  discor- 
eries,  as  given  in  Diego's  suit  against 
the  crown,  ii.  49 ;  favourable  to  Co- 
lumbus, ii.  366. 

Property,  private,  affected  by  pasto- 
ral life,  1.  61 ;  inheritance  of,  i.  69 ; 
among  the  Aztecs,  i.  124 ;  and  cat- 
tle, ii.  316,  317  ;  among  the  Peruri- 
ans,  ii.  319;  allotment  of  land  in 
Peru,  ii.  354. 

Protestantism,  mission  of,  Ii.  664. 

Ptolemv,  Claudius,  his  map  of  the 
world,  i.  263 ;  his  description  of  the 
Far  East,  i.  278;  on  the  Indian 
ocean,  i.  297 ;  his  influ(>nc«'.  i.  306 ; 
effect  of  the  Portuguf^ne  discoveries 
on  his  theories,  i.  329,  333;  esti- 
mates the  circumference  of  the 
earth,  i.  374 ;  his  notions  about 
southeastern  Asia,  i.  475;  America 
supposed  part  of  his  Terra  Incog- 
nita, ii.  126 ;  his  influence  shown  in 
the  globe  of  Finnus,  ii.  126;  pio- 
poeed  new  edition  of  his  work  at 
Saint-Did,  iL  133 ;  edition  pubUabed 


6U 


•difcioo,  fL  14& 
FikUo*,  arcLiteetan  of,  L8fr-V7 ;  is 

tfc«  CkMO  TaOey,  L  9t ;  pcyclrticw 

of,  L  91 ;   of  the  Momife,  S.  93;  to 

tU  cUfla,  i.  98;   Mr.  Bndeficr's 

OTtiiMtM  of  tbe  rofobtMHi  of ,  L  M. 

96;  at  Uxnal,  L  133;  of  Mexico  m 

1619,  U.  251. 
Prki,  Lnifi,  lito  idea  of  the  JSem 

World,  L  3M. 
Pnlqnf,  Art«c  beer,  L  127 ;  fi.  STO. 
Purcliaa,  on  IsrraiB**  ttory  of  Ua  ad- 

irroturoi,  i.  2S0. 
Foritaoa,  aad  **  idolatrona  **  itetaeo,  L 

96w 

Qnaritrb,  B.,  bfa  facainfle  of  tbo  Ital- 
ian  edition  of  Teapuciiu'a  letter,  fi. 
42 
Quau):pq^oca,  bomed  alive  by  Cortea, 

«.  '2iO,  '281. 
Qcesada,  Ovpcr,  captain  of  the  Coo- 
oe(cion,   ii.   191 ;   in   open  mutiny 
agaimt  Magellan,  ii.  196;  orerpow- 
ered  and  bel>ead»-d,  ii.  198. 
Qnetzalcoatl,  tie  Fair  God,  and  the 
Tolteca,  ii.  217 :  deacribed,  U.  229 ; 
worka  on,  ii.  232;   and  Haloc,  ii. 
282,  233 ;   as  culturc-liero,  iL  233 ; 
and  other  Indian  deitiea,  ii.  234; 
driven  out  by  Tezcatlipoca,  iL  236 ; 
expectation  of  bia  return,  U.  237 ; 
and  the  coming  of  the  Speniarda,  ii. 
237, 238 ;  the  croaa  an  emblem  of,  ii. 
2C0. 
Queveda,  Juan  de,  bft>hop  at  Santa 
Maria  del  Darien,  ii.  378 ;  reroncilee 
Balboa  and  Pedrariaa,  ii.  379;    on 
the  ntinther  of    Indiana  that  per- 
iihed  in  Balboa^a  expedition,  ii.  379. 
Quiche  literature,  ii.  4G4. 
Qutchua-Aymara  tribea.      Sfe  Peru- 
vians. 
Quichuaa,  one  of  four  tribes,  ii.  319. 
Quinaay,  the   city  of,  described   by 
Marco  Polo,  t.  3C0 ;   aa  located  by 
Toscnnr'lli,  i.  37G. 
Quintanilln,  AIoiiso  de,  Columbus  wins 
his  fri«ndsiiip,   i.  400  ;    an  enthu- 
alANtic   supporter  of  Columbus,   i. 
413. 
Quiiitero,  Cristobal,  of  the  Pinta,  1. 

4'JO. 
QuitMi,  knotted  cord  used  by  the  Peru- 

vtiuiH  in  reckoninir,  ii.  298-300. 
Quito,  founded  by  Tiipnc,  il.  3*23;  re- 
bellion at,  supproAsef],  ii.  3'J4 ;  road 
between  Cuaco  and,  ii.  327. 

Riire,  meaning  of  the  word,  1. 21  ;  cul- 
ture n  't  a  listim  tion  of,  i.  23. 

Ilada,  J  lan  de,  aasaaaiuatea  Pixarro, 
U.  417. 

Rafn,  0.  0.,  hia  collection  of  Norse 
ohmiiidea,  1. 16S;  raah  eothuaiaam 
Of,  i.  195 ;  and  Um  Dighton  inaorip- 


156,157. 
Bdi0oia,  of  tho 


L  5L    5m 


d»,  aa  anthczttyoi 
B.4C3. 
,  rinsf  of,  L  273. 
Brc«  IL,  dnhe  of  Lomiue,  and  Ml 

little  town  of  Saint  IK^  fi.  13a 
Beaende,  Garcia  de,  on  this  Kt  ditaled 
aaaaaainatioii  of  Colnmbitt  by  tk» 
Portofoecc,  i.  441. 
Bibaut,  Jean,  hia  colony  at  Fnl;  Roy- 
al, U.  512 ;  arrivea  at  Fort  Carolina, 
ii.  515 ;  hia  aaaaalt  npon  St.  Ancoa* 
tine  a  faflnre,  iL  515 ;  mardered  at 
Matanaaa  Inlet,  iL  517, 518. 
Bifrhta,  medJaeval  conception  of,  B. 

456. 
Ringmann,  Matthiaa,  hia  cditioB  of 
the  *'Mundna  Novna,'' ii.  lli-U?; 
profeaaor  at  Saint-Di^,  iL  132. 
Rink,  Dr.  Henry,  on  the  fCskimoa,  L 

17. 
River-drift  men,  L  16. 
Robert  the  Debonair,  of   France,  L 

258. 
Rcbertson,  'William,  on  Mexican  diN 
ilization,  L  101 ;  aa  a  hiatorian,  L 
I      2G3. 

I  Roberval,  Sieur  de,  voyage  of,  ii.  494. 
Roldan,  hia  rebellion  at  Siui  Domingo, 

i  49G. 
Romans,  change  from  gentile  to  politi- 
cal   society   among,    L  1(0;   thdr 
value  of  bilk  and  their  trade  with 
China,  i.  2C6. 
Ross,  Sir  John,  opened  tho  n-odera 

era  of  arctic  exploration,  ii.  &-8. 
Royre,  C   C.  hii*  work  on  tlie  Chero- 
kee Nition,  i.  145. 
Ruhruquia,   W^em  de,  hia  viut  to 

the  Great  Khan,  i.  278. 
Ruix,  B\rtiiolomew,  pilot  of  Pimrro, 
ii.  392 ;  derides  to  remain  with  Pw 
sarrn,  ii.  393. 
Ruix,  8<uirho,  pilot  of  the  Santa  Ma» 

rii,  i.  420. 
Rnpert*a  Land,  country  known  aa,  iL 

641. 
Ruaaell,  Mr.  Clark,  on  17th  eentmy 
mariners,  L  316. 


."iVti 


INDEX. 


625 


Boaiia,  origin  of,  i.  192. 

BuAticiano,  the  mmanuenBis  (tf  Harco 

Polo,  L  284. 
Rat,  John,  vuyage  in  1527,  iL  16 ;  at 

Newfoundliud,  ii.  22. 
RuyiMsb,  Jokann,  his  map  in  1508,  iL 

80 ;  allowing  tlie  **  Mtindus  Noma  " 

of  Yeapudua,  iL  114-119. 

a 

8achem,  the,  and  his  functions,  i.  69  ; 
in  the  Iroquois  confederacy,  L  75 ; 
among  the  Zufiia,  L  89 ;  among  the 
Azte<»,  i.  110. 

8jK:riflces,  human,  among  the  Aztecs, 
L  117;  captives  for,  L  119;  and 
cannibalism,  i.  119;  an  advance  on 
tortnre,  i.  120 ;  an  incentive  to  war, 
i.  120 ;  Abraham  and  Isaac,  i.  121 ; 
appeaaiug  '*  Father  Tiber,"  L  121 ; 
among  Mexicans  and  other  raoes, 
ii.  272, 273 ;  festival  of  Tezcatlipoca, 
ii.283;  in  Vedic  times,  ii.  341;  in 
Peru,  ii.  312. 

Bacsahuaman  hill,  ruins  on,  iL  304; 
Oarci lassoes  testimony  concerning, 
ii.  307-^10 ;  size  of  stones  in  the 
outer  waU,  ii.  357. 

Bagas,  meaning  of,  i.  194 ;  of  Eric  the 
Bad,  i.  195,  198,  199;  historical  and 
mythical,  i.  197 ;  of  Thorflnn  Karl- 
sefni,  i.  198 ;  Hauk's  coUecUon  of, 
L  201 ;  containing  references  to 
Yinland,  i.  202 ;  Eyrbyggja  Saga,  i. 
203 ;  Kristui  Ssga,  L  'iOG ;  disagree- 
ments in,  i.  207,  208. 

St.  Augustine,  Florida,  beginnings  of, 
u.  515. 

Baint-Dl^,  ita  association  with  the  dia- 
coverv  of  America,  ii.  131. 

St.  Isidore,  of  Seville,  supports  the 
theories  of  Mehs  i.  317. 

St.  John*8  river,  F:->rida,  ahell-moonda 
on  its  banktf,  L  5. 

St.  Olaus,  monastery  of,  L  159;  on 
Zeno^s  map,  i.  234;  hot  spring  of, 
L240. 

Salamanca,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  at, 
L4C1. 

Salraeron,  hia  letter  in  1531  recom- 
mending better  roads  in  Mexico,  L 
117. 

Sanchez,  Gabriel,  or  Raphael,  Colum- 
bu8*8  letter  to,  L  449. 

Sandefiord,  Norway,  Viking  ship  dis- 
covered at,  L  173. 

San  Domingo,  founded,  L  484 ;  Colum- 
bus ordered  out  of  the  harbour,  i. 
506;  Ovaudo's  fleet  swamped  at,  L 
607. 

San  Juan  de  ir>loa,  the  island  named, 
ii.  244. 

Sau  Pablo,  California,  shell-mounda  at, 
L5. 

San  Salvador,  named  by  Colombua,  i. 
433. 

San  Sebastian,  famine  at  the  town  of, 
iL368.  1 


Santa  Maria,  tiie  flanliip  of  Colnm- 
t  ja,  L  420 ;  wrecked,  L  437. 

Santa  Maria  del  Daxlen,  the  town 
founded,  ii.  371 ;  the  inhabitanta  re- 
fuite  to  let  Nicuesa  land,  ii.  372. 

Sautangel,  Luis  de,  begs  the  queen  to 
favour  Columbua,  i.  416 ;  loans  mon- 
ey for  the  ships,  L  418 ;  the  descrip> 
tion  of  Columbtts*s  discovery  ad- 
dressed to,  L  443. 

Sautarem,  Joio  de,  crosses  the  equa- 
tor, i.  326. 

SjuitMvm,  visooont  de,  his  work  on 
Vespucius,  iL  161. 

Saracena,  the,  interpose  a  barrier  be- 
tween Europe  and  the  Far  East,  L 
269. 

Sargasso  sea,  its  nature  and  extent,  L 
420,427. 

Sarmiento,  Juan,  work  of  Ciezs  d« 
Leon  attributed  by  Presoott  to,  iL 
306. 

Sataspes,  hia  royage  dr.  470  b.  c.,  L 
301. 

Savagery,  distinguished  from  barba- 
rism, 1.  25 ;  Ethnic  periods  of,  L  26 ; 
tribes  in  the  upper  statue  of,  i.  39; 
region  of,  i.  40 ;  the  family  in,  L  58 ; 
characteristics  of,  L  78. 

"Sivages,**  nioaning  of  the  term,  L 
26 :  Australian  blackfellows  and 
Indians,  L  34;  mental  capadtyof, 
L  59  ;  as  seen  by  the  Norsemen,  L 
185-192;  described  by  early  authors, 
L  327-329;  of  South  America,  iL 
297. 

Savona,  deed  at,  ratlfled  by  Cokunboa, 
L  342;  Domenico  Colombo  moves 
to,  L  347. 

Sayoe,  A.  H.,  on  the  antiquity  of 
weapona  found  at  Mycenae,  L  31. 

Schliemaun,  Dr.,  iron  keys  found  by 
him  at  Mycenae,  L  31 ;  referred  toL 
L  137. 

ScbOuer,  johann,  his  globes,  iL  148; 
his  cajrdess  statements  concerning 
VespuciuN,  iL  155  ;  straits  on  hia 
globes  of  1515  and  1520,  it.  189. 

Schoolcraft,  Longfellow*s  poem  of 
Hiawatha  based  on  his  book,  i.  46 ;  on 
the  balista  of  the  Algonquina,  L  192. 

Schrader,  referred  to,  T.  «0. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter.  Varangian  guard 
described  by,  L  J5i. 

Scythia,  i.  306  ;  VirgU*s  description  <A 
wiuter  in,  L  306. 

Sebu,  conversion  of  the  king  of,  iL  206 1 
massacre  at,  iL  207. 

Seminoles,  i.  42. 

Sendacour,  Jean  Basin  de,  his  Latin 
version  of  Vespudua*a  letter  to  8o- 
dermi,  U.  134. 

Seneca,  L.  A.,  prophesiea  great  dl«- 
coveriea,  L  369,  370. 

Seneca-Iroquois  long  honae,  L  66w 

Sepulveda,  Juan  de,  hia  oootroreiqr 
with  Lit  Oams,  iL  478. 


626 


INDEX. 


Sequdra,  hU  expedition  to  Malfifm 
MMl  the  Malay  plot,  U.  182, 186. 

Serpent  worship,  OTidenoe  on,  L  110. 

iSemmo,  Francisco,  with  Sequeira  at 
Xaiaooa,  U.  185;  frieudship  for  ICa- 
gellaii,  H.  187 ;  his  sliipwreck  and  stay 
at  the  Molucca*,  iL  187 ;  murdered, 
U.  207. 

Serrano,  Juan,  brother  of  Francisco, 
ci»ptain  of  the  Santisgo,  iL  19*2; 
trusted  by  Migellan,  ii.  19*2 ;  remains 
faithful,  ii.  i3t; ;  hU  death,  ii.  207. 

Setebos,  deity  of  the  Patagonians,  iL 
1»8. 

Seven  Cities,  thought  to  be  in  the 
heart  of  the  American  continent,  ii. 
603 ;  and  the  pueblos  of  ZiiAi,  iL  504. 

Shaler,  Professor  N.  S.,  i.  28 ;  on  vol- 
canoes  during  eruption.  L  243. 

Shawnees,  status  of,  L  44;  the  same 
as  the  early  mound-builders,  i.  144, 
145. 

Shell-mounds,  in  Maine,  I.  4 ;  in  Flor- 
ida, on  the  lower  Misriwrippi,  and  in 
California,  i.  5. 

Ships,  clumsiness  of  Spanish  and  Pox^ 
tuffuese,  i.  312. 

Short,  J.  T.,  ou  the  cliff  pueblos,  L  93. 

Siberia,  Russian  conquest  of,  ii.  549 ; 
exploration  of,  ii.  551. 

Sierra  Leone,  visited  by  Hanno  the 
Carthaginian,  i.  301  ;  tlie  advance 
to,  i.  32G. 

Siffismund,  Emperor,  arks  the  aid  of 
Henry  tlie  Navieator,  i.  319. 

Silk,  used  by  the  Romans,  i.  265 ;  com- 
merce in,  *.  270. 

Sinai,  inscriptions  at,  L  2C6. 

Sinclair,  Henry,  of  Roslyn,  earl  of 
Orluiey  and  Caithness,  liis  meeting 
with  Nicold  2ieno,  and  their  frieud- 
sliip,  L  228 ;  liis  vojrage  with  Anto- 
nio Zeno,  i  229 ;  virtues  of,  i.  230 ; 
the  same  as  **Zichmni"  of  Zeno*s 
narrative,  L  238. 

Sioux,  territory  Oi,  i.  40. 

Six  Nations,  formed,  i.  47. 

Slxte  le  Tac,  his  history  of  New  France, 
L  218. 

Skroilings,  meaning  of  tl  e  epithet,  i. 
188 ;  those  of  Viuland  not  Eiildmos, 
L  IS'^,  180;  probably  Algonquins,  L 
100 ;  their  manner  of  fighting,  i. 
191 ;  traces  of,  in  Greenland,  i.  205. 

Skylax,  on  the  Sargasso  sea,  i.  42G. 

Slavery,  Aztec,  i.  121 ;  and  the  law's 
brougitt  about  by  Las  Casas,  iL  418 ; 
a  plague,  U.  427;  Roman,  iL  428; 
beginuiugs  of  modern,  ii.  429  ;  Azu- 
rara's  account  of,  1444,  ii.  430,  431 ; 
Indian  sUvery  under  Columbus,  ii. 
432 ;  ui  Hisnaniola,  ii.  4:^,  435 ;  royal 
orders  of  1503  relating  to  Indians. 
IL  441 ;  encomiendaM^  ii.  442  ;  and 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  Hispaniola, 
U.  443, 444 ;  Montesino*s  sermons  on, 
IL  446,  447 ;  Las  Caaaa  comes  out 


•gainst,  fl.  4S0;  nesro,  fi.  4M-IB; 
prohibited  in  Penir&463 ;  of  ludiaM 
forbidden  by  tbe  Pope,  iL  €73;  ths 
New  Laws  i^rainet,  IL  474 ;  ooapr*' 
mises,  and  declitte  ot  Indian  slavery, 
ii.  475;  in  Pera,  ii.  476 :  of  negroei 
in  limits  of  United  Sutes,  iL  ^Q. 

Slav^^-trade,  begtnninjc  of  modem,  L 
323 ;  why  faroored  by  Prince  Henry 
tbe  Navigator,  L  3^ ;  Lm  Caam 
averse  to,  iL  458. 

Smith,  John,  on  Madoe  the  Wddi 
prince,  L  41. 

Sinke-woman,  of  the  Azteoa,  L  110; 
functions  of ,  L  114. 

Snorro,  son  of  Tborflna,  bwn  in  Tin- 
land,  L  168. 

Snorro  Sturleeon,  hia  wealth,  L  154. 

Socialism,  an  illastratioo  ot  govern* 
ment  socialism  in  Pern,  IL  SS& 

Soderini,  Yeapncius's  letter  to,  IL  84; 
veriiions  of  tbe  letter,  iL  39. 

Solis,  Juan  Dias  de,  associated  with 
Pinion,  iL  64;  date  of  his  voyage 
with  Pinion,  ii.  67 ;  aeea  the  river 
La  Plata,  iL  171;  last  voyage  and 
death,  ii.  176. 

Soncino,  Raimondo  de,  Cabot^a  comas 
described  by,  ii.  12. 

Soto,  Fernando  de,  with  Cordova  at 
Nicaraplu^  iL  390;  with  Pizarro  in 
Peru,  ii.  308  ;  liis  visit  to  Atahoalpa, 
ii.  400 ;  condemns  the  murder  of 
Atahualpa,  ii.  4U5,  406 ;  expeditioa 
to  the  Mississippi,  iL  500;  opposed 
at  Mauvila,  ii.  609 ;  works  on  his  ex- 
pedition, ii.  510. 

Spain,  hi  the  year  1000,  L  259;  the  dis- 
tance from,to  China  by  aea  weetwaid, 
L  279  ;  and  tiie  treaty  oi  Tordesiliss, 
i.  459;  and  the  trsde  with  tlie  In- 
dies, i.  4€0,  461 ;  'decline  of  her  pow- 
er; iL  654,  566;  her  stmnle  vritii 
the  Moors,  ii.  556;  and  tbe  Reforma* 
tion,  U.  558 ;  her  crusade  against  the 
Netherlands,  iL  559 ;  her  persecu- 
tion of  heretics,  ii.  561 ;  her  ecoDomks 
ruin  dates  from  the  expulsion  of  the 
Moriscoes,  ii.  5G3. 

Spaniards,  brouglit  domestic  fr*m*lt 
to  America,  L  27 ;  their  cruelty 
compared  with  tliat  of  the  Indians, 
L  49, 50 ;  their  opmion  of  Grannda, 
L  06 ;  tlieir  misconceptions  ot  Mex- 
ican society,  L  98;  Mr.  Morgan's 
explanation  of  the  errors  in  tljeir 
narratives,  L  102;  distinction  b»> 
tween  their  facts  and  iiiverpreta- 
tions  of  factji,  i.  125 ;  vinited  Flor- 
ida before  Novem^*r,  1502,  «.  76, 
79 ;  received  as  gods  at  Xocotlan,  !i. 
252 ;  tlieir  first  sigl.t  ol  Mexii^o,  iL 
259;  thought  by  Peruvians  to  be 
sons  of  Viracocha,  ii.  399 ;  and  sla» 
very  at  hUpaniola,  IL  443, 444 ;  theii 
contempt  for  labour,  ii.  567;  tikflit 
religious  bigotry,  IL  568. 


...-«ttl 


INDEX. 


627 


*  Specalam  Orbis,**  IL  112. 

Spencer,  Herbert,  on  kinBhip  throagh 
females,  i.  56 ;  on  primitive  society, 
i.  58 ;  on  a  true  industrial  society,  u. 
355. 

Spice  Islands,  visited  by  the  Portu- 
guese, ii.  183. 

Squier,  E.  O.,  on  the  number  of  Ameri- 
can ianffuages,  i.  38 ;  investigations 
on  the  ChimuB,  ii.  322. 

Stanley,  Henry  M.,  on  feeding  and 
starving,  U.  371,  372. 

Stanley  of  Alderley,  Lord,  his  work  on 
Magellan,  U.  ll». 

Stephens,  J.  L.,  his  **  Incidents  of 
Travel  in  Central  America,**  i.  13i ; 
on  the  slabs  of  Uxmal,  i.  135;  on 
early  manuscripts  unexamined,  L 
138. 

Stevens,  Henrr,  suggests  La  Cosa*8 
conception  of  what  Cuba  was,  ii.  73 ; 
finds  a  copy  of  the  **  Speculum  Or- 
bis,"  IL  112. 

Stith,  William,  the  historian,  on  Poca- 
houtas^s  visit  to  London,  I.  98. 

Stobnlcsa,  Jan,  his  map  in  1512,  iL 
177. 

Storm,  Oustav,  on  the  voyages  to  Vin. 
land,  i.  156 ;  on  the  ^n^pes  of  Vin- 
land,  L.  181 ;  and  muse.  i.  183 ;  on 
the  epithet  Skraellng,  L  188 ;  on  Co- 
lumbus's knowledge  of  Adam  of 
Bremen*8  allusion  to  Vinland,  L  386. 

Strabo,  on  the  boundaries  of  the  in- 
habited world,  L  309 ;  suggests  that 
there  may  be  other  inhabited  worlds 
on  the  earth,  L  370:  on  the  loneli- 
ness of  the  sea,  i.  375b 

Strait  of  Malacca,  Columbus  searcbas 
for,  L  510. 

Sun-worsliip  in  Pern,  ii.  340. 

Switzerland,  lake-dwellers  of,  I.  30, 37. 

Szkolny,  John,  said  to  have  sailed  to 
Greenland,  L  253. 

Tabula  Terrti  A'ore,  Waldseemilller*s 
map.    Set  Waldseemiillpr. 

Tacitus,  Romans  and  Teutons  de- 
scribed by,  i.  24. 

Talavera,  Fernando   de,   Columbns^s 

{>lan  referred  to,  i.  400 ;  he  consults 
earned  men,  i.  401  ;  opposes  the 
plans  of  Columbus,  i.  414 ;  offers  to 
carry  Ojeda  to  Hispaniola,  ii.  368. 
Sallegwi,  identifled  with  the  Chero- 

kees,  i.  145. 
Swrobane,  the  Island  of  Ceylon,  I. 

Tasso,  and  the  Canarv  islands,  L  303. 
Taylor,  Dr.  Isaac,  on  the  Maya  alpha* 

bet,  i.  132. 
Tblemachus.  his  reply  to  Athene  coo- 

cemipg  his  father,  i.  57. 
Tenochtitlai*,  origin  of  the  name,  iL 

222.   See  aUo  Mexico  (dty). 
Tftn  Tribes  of  Israel,  L  3. 
Termroaaa,  bald  to  be  the  birtbplMO 


of  Colrnnbofl  bj  Harrlise  and  Las 
Casas,L348. 

Tezcatlipoca,  the  god  of  darknaai, 
drives  out  Quetndcoatl,  iL  236 ;  fes- 
tival of,  iL  283. 

Tezcuco,  line  of  kings  at,  il.  218 ;  over* 
throws  Axcaputzalco,  U.  224 ;  Joim 
Cortes  against  Mexico,  ii.  288. 

Thomas,  ut,  Cyrus,  cm  Maya  picture- 
writing,  L  132 ;  on  the  mound- 
buUders,  L  144. 

Thomsen,  on  Ancient  Bnsdaand  Scan- 
dinavia, L  152. 

Thomson,  Sir  William,  on  the  age  of 
the  earth,  i.  6. 

Thorbrand,  son  of  Snorro,  his  death, 
L  190;  noticed  in  the  Eyrbyggia 
Saga,L203. 

Thorfinn  Karlsefni,  his  attempt  to 
found  a  colony  in  Yinland,  L  167, 
168 ;  his  voyage  not  connected  with 
Maine,  L  181 ;  and  ttie  nativea  of 
Yinland,  L  187;  his  bull,  L  187 ;  ge- 
nealogy of,  L  206;  unsttoceaafol  in 
Yinland,  L  219. 

Thorhall  Oamlason,  description  of,  L 
168 ;  known  as  the  Yinlander,  L  20a 

Thorir,  his  arctic  voyage,  i.  201. 

Thome,  Robert,  tesamony  on  the 
'*  prima  tierra  vista,"  U.  11. 

Thorvald,  the  husband  of  Freydlo,  in 
Vinland,  L  170. 

Thorvald  and  Thorstein,  Leif*s  bro- 
thers, sail  for  Yinland,  i.  167. 

Thorwaldsen,  descended  from  Snorro, 
L  168. 

Thule,  the  island,  located  by  Colum- 
bus, i.  382,  383. 

Tillinghast,  W.  H.,  his  '*  Oeogranhical 
Knowledge  of  the  Ancients,"  i.  151 ; 
and  Washington's  opinion  of  the 
DigbtOD  inscription,  i.  2ia 

Titicaca,  Lake,  cradle  of  PaniTian 
culture,  iL  303. 

Tizoc,  chief-of-men,  U.  224. 

Tlacatecuhtli,  or  priest-commander,  i« 
111 ;  his  powers,  i.  113 ;  and  election. 
L  114;  first '*  four  chiefs-of-men  **  of 
the  Aztecs,  ii.  223 ;  the  next  four, 
ii.  224 ;  table  of,  ii.  225 ;  power  of, 
ii.  256 ;  and  Cortes,  iL  276 ;  Montesu- 
ma  invested  with  the  ofSce  of,  ii.  277. 

Tlaloc,  god  of  rain,  and  Quetzalooatl, 
ii.  233. 

Tlascala,  compared  by  Cortes  to 
Granada,  i.  94-96;  the  population 
of,  i.  95. 

Tlaacalans,  hostile  to  the  Mexican 
confederacy,  U.  227 ;  oppose  the  ad- 
vance of  Cortes,  ii.  W&\  form  an 
alliance  with  the  Spaniards,  iL  2S6  ; 
after  the  Melancholy  Night,  ii.  287. 

Tlatelulco,  part  of  Mexico,  ii.  266. 

Toborco,  mentioned  by  Columbus  in 
1492,  i.  435. 

Toledo,  Francisco  de,  imta  an  end  to 
the  Inca  dynaaty,  ii.  436. 


628 


INDEX. 


ToUms,  inieblo  of,  home  of  the  Totteca, 
ii.  *217  ;  dtuaUonof,  U.  220. 

ToltecSf  the  aacendency  of,  IL  216; 
doubU  about,  U.  217,  220. 

Tonty,  Henri  de,  left  by  La  Balle  at 
Fort  Crevecceur,  ii.  634. 

Tordeaillas,  treaty  of,  L  460. 

Torteut,  Thormodoa,  on  the  loeUndio 
Toyages,  i.  155. 

Torquemada,  on  the  popnlation  of 
puebloa,  i.  05;  on  uaTes  doomed 
for  aacrifice,  L  122. 

ToecaneUi,  Paolo  del  Pouo  del,  Al- 
fonso V.  adu  his  adTice  concerning 
a  shorter  route  to  the  Indies,  i.  366  ; 
his  first  letter  to  Columbus,  i.  855, 
856 ;  hU  letter  to  Martinet,  L  856; 
his  map,  i.  357-360 ;  his  second  let^ 
ter  to  Columbus  on  the  westwurd 
route,  i.  361 ;  his  death,  i.  361 ;  did 
he  first  suggest  the  westward  route 
to  the  Indies,  i.  363 ;  the  date  of  his 
flrat  letter  to  Columbus,  i.  866-368 ; 
cakulates  the  aiie  of  the  earth,  L 
876  ;  China  as  mapped  by,  L  376; 
his  China  and  India,  L  474;  and 
Vespucci,  IL  25. 

Totem,  the  device  used  by  a  dan,  i. 
70 ;  of  the  Axteca,  ii.  266. 

Trenton  gravel,  discoveries  in,  i.  8, 15. 

Tribe,  organisation  of,  L  71 ;  struc- 
ture of,  i.  72;  the  origin  of  the 
county,  i.  99 ;  the  highest  completed 
political  integer,  i.  106. 

Tnbute,  manner  of  collecting,  among 
the  Aztecs,  and  Mohawks,  i.  115; 
tax-gatherers  mistaken  for  ambas- 
sadors, i.  117. 

Trinidad,  Humboldt's  voyage  in  1799 
to,  i.  489 ;  Columbus  reaches,  i.  491. 

Trojan  war,  and  the  Saga  of  £ric  the 
Red,  L  195.  See  also  Homeric 
Poems. 

Troy,  weapons  foimd  at,  i.  31 ;  in  the 
middle  period  of  barbarism,  L  130. 
See  alao  Homeric  Poems. 

Truce  of  Ood,  its  adoption  and  mean- 
faig,  i.  259,  260. 

Tnnmco,  tells  Balboa  about  the  wealth 
of  Peru,  11.  376. 

T^pu,  division  of  land  in  Peru,  ii.  354. 

Turkey,  the,  originally  from  Mexico, 
ii.  268. 

Turks,  the,  their  conversion  to  Ma- 
hometanism,  1. 271 ;  they  take  Con- 
stantinople, and  strangle  trade,  i. 
298. 

Toacaroras,  in  North  Carolina,  i.  46 ; 
join  the  Iroquois  league,  i.  47  ;  con- 
verted to  Christianity  by  Kirkland, 
i74. 

Tnsulutlan.  province  of,  the  "Land 
of  War,"  ii.  465 ;  experiments  of 
Las  Cases  in,  ii.  466 ;  becomes  the 
land  of  peaoe,  U.  473. 

TjUxtj,  S.  JB.^his  description  of  the 


Tyrker,  finda  gxaiMa  at  Thdnid,  I 
166;  his  name,  L 166. 

UUoa,  Alfonso,  translator  of  the  lifs 

of  Colnmbaa,  by  his  eon  Ferdimuid, 

i.  836. 
Uniped,  the,  aeeo  l^  the  N<wthm«B,L 

193. 
Ureo,  depodtion  of  the  Inca,  iL  838. 
Uxmal,  house  at,  L  183;  the  slabs  of, 

L136. 

Yaldivia,  Pedro  de,  hla  conquest  of 

ChiU,  ii.  413, 414. 
Yalentini,  Dr.,  reference  to,  on  Mexi- 
can tools,  L  128. 
Yalladolid,  has  no  record  of  the  death 

of  Columbus,  i.  513. 
Yslparaiao,  founded,  ii.  418. 
Yalverde,  the  priest,  his  speech  befors 

Atahualpa,fi.401,  402. 
Yamhagrai,  F.  A.  de,  viscount  of  Porto 
Seguro,  historian,  his  collection  of 
monographs  on  Yespncci,  ii.  26 ;  his 
text  of  yeepocius*s  letter  to  Bode> 
rini,  ii.  39;  on  Yespiiciixs*s  first  voy- 
age, ii.  52,  57 ;  his  location  of  the 
Biver  of  Palms,  iL  88;  vindicates 
Yespucius,  ii.  163;  on  the  fourth 
voyage  of  Veepudus.ii  171. 
Yecinos,  meaning  of  the  word.L  96; 

ii.  2G4,  351. 
Vela,  Blasco  Nuiiex,  his  miagovem- 

ment  and  death,  iL  419. 
Yelasquez,  appoints  Cortes  to  com- 
mand the  expedition  of  1519,  iL  245. 
Yenice,  her   rival  Constantin<n>le,  L 
273 ;  the  horses  of  St.  Mark,  L  273, 
274 ;  her  rivalry  with  Genoa,  L  274 ; 
her  commerce  in  the  Red   Sea,  i. 
275 ;  the  Pulus  return  to,  283 ;  de- 
feated by  Genoa  near  Cursola,  L 
284;    her     commercial   prorpeiity 
threatened  by  the  Turks,  i.  293. 
Yera  Crux,  named  by  Cabral.  iL  97. 
Yeragua,  inhabitanU  of,  L  609. 
Yeraguas,  Duke    of,  present  repre-    ^ 

sentative  of  Columbus,  L  399. 
Yerde,  Simone,  his  relation  of  Colum- 

bu8*s  second  voyage,  L  464. 
Yerrazano,  Giovanni  da,  his  voyage  in 

1524,  ii.  493. 
Yerracano,  Sea  of,  iL  496. 
Yespucd,  Juan,  nephew  of  Amerigo, 

his  knowledge  and  skill,  iL  27. 
Yespucius,  Americns,  foolish  thinfs 
said  about,  i.  447  ;  and  the  name  <A 
the  New  World,  L  460 ;  his  voyrge 
in  1499-1500,  i.  504 ;  his  work,  ii.  24  ; 
his  family  and  training,  ii.  25 ;  Yam- 
hagen*8  c<dlection  of  moocgraphs 
on,  U.  26 ;  goen  to  Spain,  ii.  1^  ;  re- 
lationa  with  Colnmbos,  ii.  29 ;  his 
letters  describing  his  vryagee,  ii.  29, 
80 ;  the  voyages,  ii.  30-33 ;  becomes 
pilot-major  of  Spain,  and  dien,  ii.  S3 ; 
character  of  hia  letter  to  Soderini, 


INDEX. 


629 


tt.  34-37 ;  the  letter  to  Lorenio  de* 
Medici,  ii.  37  ;  yeraioiiB  of  the  letter 
to  Soderini,  iL  38;  Quaritch  iac- 
■imile  of  the  earliest  Italian  reraiou, 
ii.  42 ;  alterations  in  the  Latin  Tor- 
sion of  1607,  iL  42f  43  ;  false  mo- 
tiTes  ascribed  to,  iL  44-46 ;  beliered 
he  was  on  the  coast  of  Asia,  ii.  46 ; 
Diego  Columbus's  suit  against  the 
crown  proves  Yespucius  did  not  di** 
cover  the  Pearl  Coast  in  1497,  and 
never  profMsed  to  have  done  so,  ii. 
60,51. 


(i. 


First  voyage,  ii.  62 ;  in  the  "  prov- 
ince of  Lariab,*'  ii.  64 ;  his  accurate 
descriptions,  ii.  64-66;  coasting 
around  Florida,  ii.  67  ;  reaches  the 
Bermudas,  and  sails  for  Cadis,  ii.  59, 
60 ;  contemporary  evidence  oonoem- 
Ing  his  first  voyage,  iL  61 ;  he  sailed 
with  Pinion  in  1497^  69,  82 ;  opin- 
ion of  Harrisse,  ii.  82 ,  bow  he  hap- 
pened to  go  with  Pinzon  and  Bolis,  u. 
83;  an  alwi  cannot  be  proved  in  1497, 
ii.  85 ;  how  far  north  did  he  follow 
the  coast  of  the  United  States,  ii.  88, 
89 ;  influence  of  his  first  on  Colum- 
bus's fourth  voyage,  ii.  92. 

Second  voyage  with  Ojeda  in  1499, 
ii.  93 ;  Mr.  Hubert  Bancroft  on  his 
letter  to  Lorenxo  de'  Medici,  ii.  91 ; 
enters  the  service  of  Portugal,  ii.  98. 

Third  voyage  :  meets  Cabral  at 
Cape  Verde,  ii.  100 ;  describes  the  In- 
dians of  BraxU,  iL  101,102;  at  the 
Bay  of  AU  Saints,  ii.  102 ;  at  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  ii.  103 ;  leaves  the  coast,  and 
discovers  South  Oeorgia,  ii.  104 ;  re- 
turns to  Lisbon,  iL  106 ;  his  voyage 
second  only  to  Columbus's  first  voy- 
age in  importance,  iL  106 ;  believes 
he  has  seen  a  new  world,  iL  107, 108 ; 
his  letter  to  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  in 
1503,  U.  108-110;  the  ''Mundus 
Novus,"  U.  Ill,  119 ;  he  sailed  to  a 
point  where  the  zenith  corresponded 
to  Lisbon's  horizon,  iL  128 ;  and  Co- 
lumbus thou(|^ht  to  have  done  diflFer- 
ent  things,  ii.  129 ;  how  the  conti- 
nent took  his  name,  L  12^,  130; 
French  version  of  his  letter  to  So- 
derini, ii.  132 ;  Latin  version  and  its 
dedication,  ii.  134, 135;  and  the  name 
America,  ii.  139-142 ;  the  son  of  Co- 
liimboB  tacitly  approved  of  "  Amer- 
ica," ii.  142;  Schoner's  careless 
statements  concernhig,  ii.l55;  Las 
Casus  annoyed  at  the  frequent  use 
of  his  name  on  maps,  ii.  156 ;  More 
on  the  popularity  of  his  narratives, 
ii-  156 ;  blamed  by  Las  Casos,  ii.  157; 
accused  by  Herrera,  ii.  159  ;  Santa- 
rem's  tirade  on,  iL  161;  Harrisse 
on,  U.  163. 

Fourth  voyage :  sails  with  Coelho 
in  1503,  iL  167 ;  he  founds  a  colony 
»nd  retoniB  to  LUbon,  IL  170, 171 ; 


returns  to  Spain,  U.  172 ;  visits  Co- 
lumbus, iL  172. 

Fifth  and  sixth  voyages :  vidts  the 
gulf  of  Darien  with  La  Cosa,  ii.  174 ; 
authorities  for  the  voysges,  ii.  176 ; 
made  pOot-major  of  Spam,  ii.  176. 

Vianello,  Girohuno,  his  letter  estab- 
lishing the  fifth  voyage  of  Yespu- 
cius, fl.  176. 

Yigfusson,  his  aooonnt  of  loelaadio 
literature,  i.  197. 

YUdng  ship  at  Sandefiord,  i.  173. 

Yikings  leave  Norway  after  King  Har- 
old Fairhair's  conquest,  1.  151-153 ; 
meaning  of  Yiking,  L  151 ;  they  found 
Icelanji,  i.  153;  and  Oreeuland,  L 
157,  158 ;  discover  America,  L  162, 
164;  their  shipa,  i.  172.  173;  their 
sagas,  i.  194-207  ;  left  no  colony  in 
Yinland,  L  215,  216 ;  the  proofs,  L 
218,  219. 

Yillegagnon,  Niohcdas  de,  and  the  Hu- 
guenot colony  in  Brazil,  ii.  511. 

Yinci,  Leonardo  da,  his  map  with  the 
first  mention  of  Ajnerioa,  iL  146. 

Yinland,  narratives  of,  L  151 ;  Rafn 
and  other  writers  on,  L  155 ;  Leif 
discovers,  L 165 ;  Tyrker  finds  grapei 
at,  i.  165 ;  location  of,  L  166,  181 ; 
other  voyages  to,  L  167-171 ;  birth 
of  Snorro,  i.  168 ;  animals  in,  L 180 ; 
grapes  in,  L  181 ;  length  of  the  day 
m,  L  181 ;  maize  in,  L  182 ;  proba* 
ble  situation  of,  L  184 ;  the  savages, 
or  Sknelings,  of ,  L  185-192;  men- 
tioned id  Norse  documents,  L  202- 
207;  referred  to  by  Adsm  of  Bre- 
men, L  206-210;  absurd  specula- 
tions concerning,  i.  213-216 ;  colonies 
not  founded  in,  L  215-220 ;  Bishop 
Eric's  search  for,  L  222  ;  what  Co* 
Iambus  knew  of,  L  384-394 ;  not  as- 
sociated with  America  till  the  seven- 
teenth century,  L  394 ;  Columbus's 
change  of  course  on  U&e  first  vov- 
age  shows  his  ignorance  of,  L  430 ; 
effect  of  arctic  voyages  upon  the 
conception  of,  ii.  519. 

Yiracocha,  conquers  the  Aymaras,  U. 
321 ;  meaning  white  man,  ii.  899. 

Yirgil,  his  description  of  a  Scythian 
winter,  L  306-307  ;  his  infiuence,  i. 
311. 

"  ViU  deU*  AmmiragUo,"  Ferdhiand 
Columbus's  life  of  his  father,  trans- 
lated by  Ulloa,  L  335;  history  and 
authenticity  of,  1.  340,  341. 

Yolcnnoes,  of  the  north  Atlantic  ridge, 
1.  241 ;  on  Jan  Mayen  island,  L  241. 

Yoltaire,  on  the  Crusades,  i.  274. 

Yoyages,  by  the  Chinese,  L  148 ;  by 
the  Irish,  i.  149 ;  by  Jean  Cousin,  1. 
150;  by  Ramalho,  L  150;  by  the 
Northmen,  i.  151 ;  works  on  Iceland- 
ic voyages,  L  166;  to  Greenland,  L 
166,  157  ;  of  Bjami  in  986,  L  162 ;  of 
Leif  in  1000,  L  164 ;  of  other  «» 


630 


INDEX. 


ploren  of  Ylnlaad,  L  107-171 ;  to 
Baffin's  Bay  in  1136,  i.  172  ;  motiTO 
for  thOM,  to  Yinland,  t.  178;  ear- 
marks of  truth  in  the  narratiTM  of, 
L  179;  Bishop  Eric's  Toyage  in 
•earch  of  Vinland,  L  222 ;  of  the 
Zeno  brothers,  L  226 ;  to  the  coun- 
try caUed  Drogio,  i.  245,  246 ;  by 
Bzkolny.  i.  263 ;  Viking  in  no  true 
sense  a  discoTci^  of  America,  L  264 ; 
why  they  were  not  followed  up,  L 
256 ;  of  the  Polos  from  Chin*  to 
Venice,  i.  2B2;  of  the  Phoenicians 
around  Africa,  L  296 ;  of  Hanno  the 
Carthaginian,  L  800;  of  Sataspes 
and  Sudoxus,  i.  302 ;  obstacles  to, 
1.  310,  311 ;  to  the  Axoras,  L  321 ; 
Portuguese  royages  on  the  coast  of 
Africa,  i.  322-327  ;  Dies  passes  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  i.  331,  332 ;  Co> 
lumbus's  first  royage,  L  418;  his 
second  Toysge.  L  w3 ;  his  third 
Toyage,  i.  488;  Vssco  da  Oama 
reaches  Hindustan,  L  498 ;  John  Jay 
searches  for  "  the  island  of  Bradl  ^' 
in  1480,  iL  3 ;  of  the  Cabots,  ii.  2-9 ; 
the  idea  of  a  northwest  passage  to 
Atta,  iL   9;    why  the   Cabot  voy- 

Ts  were  not  followed  up,  ii.  16 ; 
John  Rut,  ii.  16,  17 ;  why  few, 
until  Elizabeth's  time,  ii.  17  ;  of 
the  Cortereal  brothers,  iL  18,  19; 
.  northern  and  southern  compared,  ii. 
23 ;  of  Vespudus,  ii.  30-33,  62-00 ; 
t'\ble  of  Portuguese  and  Spanish,  ii. 
62,  63 ;  of  Finzon  and  "Solis,  ii.  64 ; 
date  of  discovery  of  Honduras  by 
IHnzon  and  Soils,  ii.  67  ;  to  the  west 
not  a  commercial  success  compared 
with  that  of  Oama,  ii.  90, 91 ;  second 
Toyage  of  Vespucius,  under  Ojeda, 
ii.  93 ;  second  T03rage  of  Pinzon,  ii. 
95 ;  of  Lepe,  Ni2o,  and  Baetidas,  iL 
96 ;  Cabnd  crosses  the  Atlantic  to 
Brazil,  ii.  96 ;  third  voyage  of  Ves- 
pucius, H.  100  ;  the  yoyages  that  led 
up  to  Magellan,  ii.  165 ;  of  Coelho 
and  Jaques,  ii.  166,  168 ;  the  fourth 
voyage  of  Vespucius,  iL  168;  the 
Pinzon  expedition  planned  for  1506, 
ii.  173 ;  of  Vespucius  and  Ia  Coea 
to  the  gulf  of  Darien,  ii.  174;  of 
Pinzon  and  Solis  hi  1508-09,  Ii.  176; 
Andrade  reaches  China,  ii.  183  ;  M^i- 
gellon  plans  to  circumnavigate  the 
crlobe,  iL  189  ;  and  sails  in  1519,  ii. 
191 ;  in  search  of  a  northwjst  i>as- 
sage,  ii.  490 ;  of  Gomez  to  New  Eng- 
land, U.  491 ;  of  Verrasano,  iL  493. 

Waldeok,  Fr^^ric  de,  his  drawings 
At  Palenque  criticised,  i.  134. 

WaldKeemulIer,  Martin,  his  map  TVi- 
bula  Terre  AVwv,  ii.  77  ;  pro'enaor  of 
geography  at  Saint-Die,  ii.  132 ;  and 
the  new  edition  of  Ptolemy,  ii.  134 ; 
his  **  Cosmographi»  Introductio," 


iL  135, 139;  eonoepllon  of  AmoteiL 
ii.  140-142. 

Walker,  General  F.  A.,  on  the  Ir» 
quois,  L  47. 

Walaingham,  Sir  Francis.  David  In- 
gram exainined  hvton,  L  2S0. 

Washington,  George,  remarks  on  ths 
Dighton  inscrii^on  while  visiting 
Cambridge  in  1789,  L  213. 

Waters,  Henry  F.,  referred  to,  iL  477. 

Watson,  Henry,  his  allusion  to  t^' 
discovery  by  Columbus,  L  452. 

Werner,  his  article  on  African  Pyg- 
mies, L  23. 

Whitman,  Walt,  his  verae,  L  407. 

Wliitney,  Professor  J.  D.,  on  the  early 
exirtenoe  of  man  in  California,  L 11 ; 
on  tlie  climate  ci  Oreeuland  aud 
Iceland,  L  176.  % 

Willem  de  Rubroquis,  vtsita  the  Grasft 
Khan,  L  278. 

William  of  Malmesborj,  his  chronldss 
and  the  Arthur  legends,  L  187. 

William  of  Worcester,  describes  Jsy*t 
attempt  to  find  the  ^*  island  of  Bra- 


W.,  on  Chinese  disoov- 


zil,"  ii.  3. 

Williams,  8. 
ery,  i.  149. 

Wilson,  R.  A.,  his  opinion  of  the 
Spanish  conquerors,  i.  101. 

Winchell,  N.  H.,  L  8;  his  discoveriss 
in  Minnesota,  L  9. 

Winnebagos,  territory  of ,  L  40 ;  tbdr 
mounds  in  Wisconsin,  i.  145. 

Winsor,  Justin,  L  10 ;  on  M.  de  Wsk 
deck's  drawings  at  Palenque,  i.  134 ; 
fabulous  islands  described  in  his 
"Narr.  and  Crit.  Hist.,"  L  376  ;  his 
account  of  Martin  Behaim,  L  423, 
424;  on  fictitious  literary  discover- 
ies, i.  444  ;  attributes  the  discovery 
of  the  Bahia  de  Todos  Santos  to 
Jaques,  ii.  103 ;  on  the  arctic  voy- 
ages of  Fox  and  James,  ii.  648. 

Wisby,  in  the  Baltic,  gives  its  name  to 
rules  of  international  law,  L  276. 

Wright,  Professor,  of  Oberlin,  referred 
to,  L  7 ;  snd  pabeolithic  implements, 
i.9. 

Wvandots,  councils  of  squaws  among, 
1.  70 ;  clans  of,  L  74. 

Wjrmsn,  Professor  Jeffries,  referred 
to,  L  6;  his  description  of  Indian 
atrocities,  L  49. 

Xirotencati,  advises  Tlascala  to  resist 

Cortes,  ii.  252. 
Xiracues,  Cardinal,  Las  Cases  a^^ks  his 

help  in  opposing  slavery,  ii.  452. 

Tucat<ui,  pueblos  of,  i.  85 ;  Mayas  of, 
L  135;  ruins  of,  i.  136,  137. 

Yucatan  channel,  Columbus's  know* 
lodge  of.  in  1602,  i.  508. 

Yule.  Sir  Henry,  his  work  "C^ithay 
and  the  Way  Thither,"  L  265;  on 
the  Mongols,  i.  277  ;  on  the  king- 


INDEX. 


631 


dom  of  PrMtor  John,  L  286 ;  on  ! 
Marco  PoIo*b  sUtement  of  12,000 
bridges  in  the  city  of  Quinaay,  L 
360 ;  on  ChinoM  customs  connected 
with  cannibalism,  ii.  268 ;  story  of 
Caliph  Axis  and  the  cherries,  iL329. 
Yupanqui,  ccmquers  the  Chancas, 
Huancas,  and  Chimos,  iL  322,  323. 

Zahrtmann,  Admiral,  his  criticism  (rf 
Zeno*s  narratire,  i.  238. 

Zaiton,  position  of,  L  376 ;  Colambns^s 
search  for,  i.  472. 

Zamudio,  sent  to  court  in  behalf  of 
Balboa,  iL  373. 

Zeno,  Antonio,  brother  of  Kiool6,  L 
227;  joins  Nicold  in  the  Feroe 
islands,  L  228 ;  his  Toyage  with  Earl 
Sinclair,  i.  229 ;  his  letters,  i.  230- 
2491  his  description  of  Estotiland, 
i.  244 ;  and  Drogio,  i.  245,  246. 

Zeno,  Carlo,  brother  of  Nicol6,  his 
sendees  to  Venice,  i.  227 ;  letters  of 
Antonio  to,  i.  229,  230. 

Zeno,  Nicol6,  the  "Cheralier," 
wrecked  upon  one  of  the  Fnroe 
islands,  L  227  ;  aids  Heniy  Shiclair 
in  his  wars,  i.  228 ;  visits  East  Bygd 
in  Greenland,  and  dies,  L  229. 


Zeno,  incol6,  the  younger,  ccdlects  the 
letters  of  his  ancestor  Antonio,  i. 
231 ;  and  alters  the  old  map,  i.  SS4, 
235 ;  criticism  of  his  work,  i.  237 ; 
did  not  claim  that  Antonio  discov- 
ered America,  L  237 ;  the  narrative 
corroborated  by  Bardaen*s  work,  i. 
239. 

Zichmni,  of  Zeno^s  narrative,  the  same 
as  Earl  Shiclair,  L  238. 

Zones,  theory  of  the  five,  L  307,  308 ; 
theories  of  Geminus,  Pan»tius,  Ma- 
crobius,  and  Strabo,  i.  309 ;  the  fiery 
xone,  L  310 ;  disproved  by  the  voyage 
of  Diss,  L  333;  treatise  of  Colum- 
bus on,  i.  382. 

Zuaso,  his  estimate  of  the  population 
of  the  dtv  of  Mexico,  ii.  264. 

Zuiii,  popuhttion  of  the  pueblo  of,  i. 
91 ;  the  pueblo  of,  i.  98 ;  Coronado 
at,  i.  94 ;  Fray  Marcos  at,  ii.  601. 

Zu&iga,  on  Gotierres  and  Columbus 
as  voluminous  writers,  i.  338. 

ZufiUs,  of  New  Mexico,  i.  82;  their 
architecture,  i.  84-97 ;  Mr.  Cushing*s 
study  of.  i.  86 ;  position  of  women 
among,  i.  89 ;  society  smong,  i.  89 ; 
as  seen  by  Coronado,  i.  89 ;  not  the 
mound-builders,  i.  143. 


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Works  relating  to  Amurica  alreadj 

*l.  Observations  of  Sir  Richard  Hawkins  {BcthMtuY 
*2.   Select  Letters  of  Columbus  {Mjior). 
*3.  Raleigh's  Discovene  of  Guiana  \Sckcmhmrg£^ 
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*7.   Hakluyt*s  Divers  Voyages  touching  the  Discovciy  x£  Amer- 
ica ( Winter  Jones). 

8.  De  Soto's  Discovery  and  Conquest  ol  Florida  {,Rye\. 

9.  Coat's  Geography  of  Hudson's  Bay  {Barmt\. 

la  The  World  Encompassed  by  Sir  Frauds  Drake  (  VauxV 

II.  Travels  of  Girolamo  Benxoni  in  America  {Adsmiral  Smrtk\, 

.  12.  Champlain's  Voyage  to  the  West  Indies  {Alue  Wiimurey. 

13.  Expeditions  into'  the  Valley  of  the  Amaxons  {Afariiam}, 

14.  Henry  Hudson,  the  Navigator  {Askery, 

15.  Travels  of  Cieza  de  Leon  {Afarkkam). 

16.  Narrative  of  Pascual  de  Andagoya  {Marihssn\. 

17.  Frobisher's  Three  Voyages  {Admiral  CoUxnsemy. 

18.  Heman  Cortes'  Honduras  {De  Ca^jnfos). 

19.  Royal  Commentaries  of  the  Incas,  2  vols.  {3fartkamy, 

20.  Select  Letters  of  Columbus  {Afa;or).    Secood  F,dirion, 

21.  Discovery  of  Peru  (AfarJbkam). 

22.  Rites  ana  Laws  of  the  Incas  (AfarJtiam}, 

23.  Voyages  of  ihe  Zcni  {Jfa;or). 

24.  Captivity  of  Hans  Stade  in  Brazil  {Bnrtim). 

25.  Magellan's  Voyage  round  the  >Vorld  {Lord  StassJey  of  Ai- 

der ley), 

26.  Lancaster's  Voyages  {Markkam), 

27.  Hawkins'  Vovages  {Markham).    Second  EditJoo. 
aS.   Davis'  Voyages  {Capt.  XfarkhamY 

99.  Acosta's  Natural  and  Moral  History  of  the  Indies,  2  vols. 

{Markkant). 
jcx   Baffin's  Voyages  [\farkhttsnY 

31.  Captain  John  Smith's  Bermudas  {Lefrvy\. 

32.  Cieza  de  Leon's  Chronicle  of  Peru  {Markktm\, 

*Oiixof  pniiL 

Tie  following  work  is  ready  : — 

Ulrich's  Schmidt's  Vovage  to  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  the  Coa>- 
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L.  I>ominguez,  Argentine  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James^ 

F<a7vtr;3h!f  tfrms  of  furckase  rf  hark  vo/stmes  mar  he  had  rm  af^ 
/^,  j^wm  t."  Mr.  C.J.  Clarke  4  Lincoln's  Inn  Ftrlds,    Al  B     The 
rs  de>not  rtfrr  to  tkose  of  the  series  tftht  Smkty^s 


THE  WRITINGS  OF 
JOHN  FISKE. 


THE   DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

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A  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
FOR  SCHOOLS. 

With  Topical  Analysis,  Suggestive  Questions,  and 
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historical  discrimination,  and  an  attractive  style.  —  The  Out' 
look  (New  York). 

CIVIL  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES 

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land.  —  The  Congregationalist  (Boston). 

An  admirable  book.  .  .  .  Mr.  Fiske  has  a  great  talent  for 
making  history  interesting  to  the  g'^neral  reader.  —  New  York 
Tinus, 

THE     BEGINNINGS     OF    NEW    ENG- 
LAND; 

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for  what  is  still  to  come.  — Boston  Post, 

.    THE  WAR   OF   INDEPENDENCE. 

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man  of  consummate  genius  could  have  written.  —  Mrs.  Caro- 
line H.  Dall,  in  the  Springfield  Republican, 

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surpassing  interest.  His  treatment  is  a  marvel  of  clearness 
and  comprehensiveness ;  discarding  non-essential  details,  he 
selects  with  a  fine  historic  instinct  the  main  currents  of  history, 
traces  them  with  the  utmost  precision,  and  tells  the  whole 
story  in  a  masterly  fashion.  His  little  volume  will  be  a  text- 
book for  older  quite  as  much  as  for  young  readers.  —  Chris^ 
tian  Union  (New  York). 

OUTLINES  OF  COSMIC  PHILOSOPHY 

Based  on  the  Doctrine  of  Evolution^  with  Criticisms  on 
the  Positive  Philosophy,   In  two  volumes,  87'0,  id.oQ 

•*  You  must  allow  me  to  thank  you  for  the  very  great  intcr- 
«t  with  which  I  have  at  last  slowly  read  the  whole  of  your 


sWork.  ...  I  never  in  my  life  read  so  lucid  an  expositor  (and 
therefore  thinker)  as  you  are ;  and  I  think  that  I  understand 
nearly  the  whole,  though  perhaps  less  clearly  about  cosmic 
theism  and  causation  than  other  parts.  It  is  hopeless  to  at- 
tempt out  o£  so  much  to  specify  what  has  interested  me  most, 
and  probably  you  would  not  care  to  hear.  It  pleased  me  to 
find  that  heie  and  there  I  had  arrived,  from  my  own  crude 
thoughts,  at  some  of  the  same  conclusions  with  you,  though  I 
could  seldom  or  never  have  given  my  reasons  tor  such  con« 
elusions."  —  Charles  Darwin. 

This  work  of  Mr.  Fiske's  may  be  not  unfairly  designated 
the  most  important  contribution  yet  made  by  America  to 
philosophical  literature.  —  The  Academy  (London). 

DARWINISM,  AND  OTHER  ESSAYS. 

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cussions which  would  be  hard  and  dry  in  the  hands  of  a  less 
animated  writer.  .  .  .  No  less  confident  and  serene  than  his 
acceptance  of  the  utmost  logical  results  of  recent  scientific 
discovery  is  Mr.  Fiske's  assurance  that  the  foundations  of 
spiritual  truths,  so  called,  cannot  possibly  be  shaken  thereby. 

—  The  Atlantic  Monthly  (Boston). 

THE   UNSEEN  WORLD, 

And  Other  Essays,    Crown  8vo^  $2.00. 

To  each  study  the  writer  seems  to  have  brought,  besides 
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tion on  the  subject,  whatever  it  may  be,  that  is  not  to  be  found 
in  the  volume  he  is  noticing.  To  the  knowledge,  analytical 
power,  and  faculty  of  clear  statement,  that  appear  in  all  these 
papers,  Mr.  Fiske  adds  a  just  independence  of  thought  that 
conciliates  respectful  consideration  of  his  views,  even  when 
they  are  most  at  variance  with  the  commonly  accepted  ones. 

—  Boston  Advertiser. 

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Among  our  thoucjhtful  essayists  there  are  none  njore  bril- 
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and  when  he  does  write  he  shows  not  onlv  that  he  has  thor- 
oughly acquainted  himself  with  the  subject  but  that  he  has 


to  A  nre  degree  the  art  of  so  massing  hb  matter  as  to  bring  out 
the  true  value  of  the  leading  points  in  artistic  relief,  it  it 
this  perspective  which  oiakes  his  i^ork  such  agreeable  read- 
ing even  on  abstru>e  subjects,  and  has  enabled  him  to  play 
the  same  part  in  popularizing  Spencer  in  this  country  that 
Littr^  performed  for  Comte  in  France,  and  Dumont  for  Ben- 
tham  in  England.  The  same  Qualities  appear  to  good  ad- 
vantage in  hi.s  new  volume,  which  contains  his  later  essays  on 
his  favorite  subject  of  evolution.  .  .  .  They  are  well  worth 
repenisal.  —  The  Nation  (New  York). 

MYTHS  AND  MYTH-MAKERS. 

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(London). 

A  perusal  of  this  thorough  work  cannot  be  too  strongly 
recommended  to  all  who  are  interested  in  comparative  my- 
thology.—  Remte  Critique  (Paris). 

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clearness  of  his  style,  his  simple  and  pure  English,  and  his 
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full  truth  than  men  like  the  author  of  this,  little  book,  who 
reverently  study  the  works  of  God  for  the  lessons  which  he 
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THE   IDEA    OF  GOD, 

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